


Come back, I still need you

by fanfics_she_wrote



Series: can you hear me screaming please don't leave me [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Caleb is an asshole, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Post Season 1, Slow To Update, The Author Regrets Nothing, juke, no beta we die like illiterate fools, there will be juke I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27137096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfics_she_wrote/pseuds/fanfics_she_wrote
Summary: Just over a year later, we are witnessing social media once again flooding with messages to the family and friends of late Julie Molina of the once up and coming band, Julie and the Phantoms. Molina passed in November 2020, just shy of her seventeenth birthday, and once it was confirmed, the remaining members of the band seemingly dropped off the face of the earth in an eerily similar fashion to a now twenty-six-year-old Hollywood tragedy, debuting rock band Sunset Curve. Could there be a link between the two?"Honestly, does Buzzfeed not have time for anything other than conspiracies?""Okay, but they're right."ORthe part two where Caleb Covington gets what he deserves.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Julie Molina, Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: can you hear me screaming please don't leave me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980683
Comments: 388
Kudos: 452





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We discover that some of the babies learned how to curse. Violently.

_**November, 2021** _

"I'm getting real sick of these invisible tugs," Reggie complained, falling into the couch beside Luke.

"Just be thankful they're not painful like Caleb's," Alex grumbled. "Sometimes I just wish I could get close enough to like --" Alex mimed jabbing his drumstick through something -- presumably Caleb's head.

"Don't we all," Luke said, laughing.

"Okay, true, but they are annoying. They've been going on for at least two days now, ever since Julie's-- . . ."

The humerous atmosphere died pretty quickly. They'd managed to sneak away from Caleb on the anniversary of Julie's death and had spent all their available time with Ray and Carlos, then Flynn and Carrie, then finally, sitting in silence at her grave. It had, as always, been nice to see the faces of people who had become their family but it hurt too much when they all noticed Julie's absence. Remembering Julie was easier than remembering that she was dead.

"Sorry." Reggie's voice was small and quiet as it was whenever he tried apologising to stop a brewing fight between his parents.

Alex joined the two on the couch, squishing Reggie in the middle.

"It's fine, Reg," Luke said, patting his arm, "we're fine."

"We are so not," Alex scoffed, "but okay."

"Nah, we're fine," Luke said, "we have each other and hey, Willie and all are safe. Given that Reggie totally kicked Caleb's ass to kingdom come, I'm impressed that we're still existing."

"I _did_ kick his ass," Reggie said proudly.

"Yes, you did. But don't do it again. That was the single most terrifying moment of my life -- death -- afterlife -- whatever."

"But," Luke added, leaning forward to look at Alex, "it was also our proudest moment. And Reg, I think that after Julie got over how mad she was, she'd be pretty damn proud of you too." 

"Thank you," Reggie said, leaning his head on Luke's shoulder. He tried for a bright smile. "I miss her." 

"I know," Alex said, leaning against Reggie. 

Had they been talking about anything else at all, Luke would have shoved them off with mock annoyance. But this was Julie. Quiet moments like these where they sat together and remembered Julie made putting up with Caleb bearable. He might have taken Julie from them, but he would never be able to take away the love they still had for her. 

Of course, that didn't mean Caleb wasn't still a massive pain in the ass. 

There was a loud knock on the door. "Boys! Milan wants to say hello!" 

"We don't want to say hello to Milan!" Luke yelled back. 

"That wasn't a request, Luke." 

Luke sighed as his wrist lit up, a warning of what would follow if they didn't do as they were told. It had taken months for them to stop defying Caleb's every whim. Only when they were near the point of ceasing to exist did they relent. 

"Fine," Luke yelled, "we're coming!" 

"Excellent!" 

"Dick," Reggie muttered, quickly amused at the scandalized look that crossed Alex's face. "Oh, grow up, Alex, we were all thinking it." 

Alex looked to Luke for support but Luke only shrugged and made a face that clearly said he agreed with Reggie. 

"Come on, _Milan awaits_." 

Reggie couldn't help the snicker at Luke's impression of Caleb. Even trapped and dead, having each other made everything bearable.

* * *

"We are behind schedule," Caleb snapped at the ghosts around him. "We were supposed to be back in Hollywood _yesterday_. Who's the slacker that -- boys! Well, don't you look sharp." 

Reggie gave Caleb the sharpest glare he could manage as they approached him.

"Your sense of style sucks," Luke said, pulling at his collar, "like, a lot."

Caleb shrugged. "I don't actually care."

Simultaneously, all three of them flickered before Caleb's eyes. He scowled, but Alex beat him to the first response.

"By the way, we hate this and we want you to fix it. We've been behaving -- well, most of the time. There's no need for this excessive . . . inconveniences." 

Caleb didn't tell them he wasn't doing anything. "I think sneaking off when you think I don't notice is reason enough." 

Alex didn't push it. Caleb was just a major inconvenience most of the time, but they knew firsthand how ruthless he could be. 

Caleb turned a sugary smile on the scowling Reggie. "You should work out your issues. You throw a mean swing and I have to admit, I'm still a little impressed. But I don't think you want to push it when I'm the one in charge."

Reggie narrowed his eyes. "I'm glad I punched you in the face. Six times. Hard. In front of several other ghosts. In your very own--"

"Yeah, I got it, thanks. You know, you three really are such massive thorns in my side." 

"Good," they said together, giving Caleb the same angry expression.

Caleb sighed dramatically. "Whatever. Go, change or whatever it is you do when you hide away in that little room of yours. Try not to sneak off soon, we're heading back to Hollywood in a few hours."

"I have never hated anyone as much as I hate Caleb," Alex confessed as the ghost walked off, yelling to someone else.

"I told you knew we were sneaking off," Luke hissed. 

"Well, duh," Reggie said, "we're not exactly quiet about how much we hate it here. He probably figured it out the first time there was silence in his theatre." 

"Point taken. But hey, he didn't threaten to stop us." 

"Yeah, probably because he knows we're powerless and he knows exactly where to find the people we care about if we get problematic," Alex pointed out. 

"Yeah, but we've already established that he can't get to them," Reggie said, "Caleb all but said it himself."

"He's Caleb The Asshole Covington, he'd make a way for himself."

"Mood ruiner," Luke said, already walking away. "God, I _hate_ bowties!"

Reggie saw Caleb turn and glare at Luke for the comment and grinned. They may be trapped but they were having a wonderful time being the absolute biggest nuisances they could to Caleb. They never planned to go down, but if they did, they were going to make sure to take every shred of sanity Caleb had with them.

* * *

For the strangest reason, poofing back onto the very first Hollywood Ghost Club stage they ever performed on felt like coming home.

It sickened every part of them to think that they found any semblance of home or comfort with anything to do with Caleb. 

"Wow," Caleb said, watching their expressions twist, "you could at least _pretend_ to be excited." 

"No," Reggie said, resisting the urge to flip Caleb off. They'd already been massive nuisances all day. He didn't want to push it too far. 

The revolting feeling of home continued to build up and the boys only found themselves feeling more and more disgusted. That is, until the general hum of chatter was silenced by a short melody from the grand piano. 

All three of them recognised the melody. Luke had gotten it in his head after one visit to Carlos where the young boy had shown them half a song Julie had been working on and for months, whenever he had a free moment, Luke could be caught strumming out the short set of notes, humming words he didn't yet know.

"Well, it's about damn time," Julie said, faking exhaustion, "I've been waiting here for _hours_. Honestly, you'd think an evil, spineless, ghostly piece of shit bastard would at the very least stick to a schedule. This is just plain embarrassing, Caleb." 

All three of them also finally realised that Caleb had nothing to do with the gentle tugs they'd been feeling. It wasn't Caleb's forceful hand, it was Julie's gentle call. They remembered it, albeit much more powerful, from the night of their first Orpheum performance more than a year ago.

If it were possible, Caleb would have paled until he was white as a sheet. Despite the fact that no one could see his first reaction to Julie Molina sitting behind the piano, Julie herself could tell she terrified him. So she smiled, sweetly and innocently. 

Reggie shoved Caleb. "What sort of sick, twisted joke is this?" he demanded, gesturing to Julie. "I know we're complete assholes to you but this? This is low, even for you."

"You'd do well to keep your hands to yourself," Caleb snapped, reminding them of what he could do to make them compliant with a warning glow on their wrists. 

Fear fluttered across Julie's face _very_ briefly. 

"You," Caleb continued, turning to Julie, "have no power here." 

"Not yet," Julie corrected. "Being dead does have some perks. Sometimes you hit the jackpot with how many tricks and spells and curses you can create and show off. Sometimes you hit the jackpot on just how powerful you can be. I guess it all depends on the kind of life you lived."

"What do you want?" Caleb was stalling with indulging Julie as he inched towards her. If he could just get close enough, he could put her under the same curse he had the boys and then truly, Caleb would have all the power in the world. 

"I'm not here to fight. Well, not today, at least. I'm just here to remind you that contrary to what you think, you don't have all the power in the world. You're a coward, hiding behind cheap tricks and sneaky curses and someday soon, it's all going to come back and bite you in the ass. I'm just here to tell you that when I leave this place for good, I won't be going alone." 

Reggie, Luke and Alex, for the first time since Julie died, felt something akin to a fluttering heartbeat when she looked at them and gave them the smile she had always reserved for them. Julie's phantom face, as Flynn said. 

It was hope. Hope and love and life. Julie was all of that and more. 

Caleb reached the side of the piano and made a grab for Julie, who quickly poofed out. Stuck to a few keys was a post-it note. 

_I'll be back soon. Don't you dare hurt them._  
_~ Julie_

Caleb fumed as he snatched the note up and crushed it, glaring first at the piano then at the boys. "If I catch you sneaking out again, there will be hell to pay."

For the first time since Julie's death, the boys felt unstoppable. They felt alive again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so!  
> Here is the sequel akdnnsne  
> I just want to say that updates will be much slower because I'm posting as I write instead of writing it all out and then posting as I edited like the previous book so pls just bear with me on that. If i happen to edit previous chapters later, dw, there will be a note about it. & I know the chapter is short but I REALLY wanted to end it here so whelp, here we are.
> 
> In other news, please accept this as my apology for the previous story and may this be satisfying enough for you all to put away your torches and pitchforks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People accept death differently, some quicker or healthier than others.

_**16 DAYS AGO** _

Willie paced the length of the garage door. He had been pacing for about three minutes already.

"Will you cut it out?" Carlos suddenly called. "I can _feel_ you wearing the carpet thin. You're pacing, aren't you?"

Willie stopped and glared at Carlos who was seated on the couch, iPad in hand. 

"I'm gonna take that as a yes." 

_Shut up, short stack._

Carlos laughed. "I knew it. I'm getting good at this." 

_You're lucky I like you_. There was a brief pause before Willie's lovely endearment for Carlos typed itself in. _Short stack._

"I am a very likeable person," Carlos said, smiling at the smiley face he received. Carlos would never say it to them, but he preferred talking to Willie over the boys. It was just so much easier when Willie didn't need to take the iPad or phone and type the words in himself.

Or maybe it was just that Carlos hung out with Willie everyday and only got to see -- or rather, chat with -- the boys every odd week. 

Carlos knew exactly when the boys did arrive because he was fairly certain Alex threw himself at Willie so hard, it was the two of them that knocked over the coat stand. Carlos quickly put the iPad on the coffee table and anxiously waited, either for someone to pick it up or for Willie to explain why he dropped the coat stand. He was absolutely delighted when the iPad lifted off the coffee table.

_Hey, Ghostie Toastie._

"Reggie! Are you guys okay? Still alive? Well -- you know what I mean."

_:D We're fine. Listen, why don't you take this up to Julie's room & talk to Luke a little bit? He's been feeling a bit down lately and I think he misses talking to you. _

Carlos read the words slowly, waiting a few seconds before speaking. "He's missing Julie, isn't he?" 

_More than most days. Go on, I'll be with your dad. Willie already took off with Alex._

"Whipped," Carlos said, an exact imitation of the way Reggie used to often say it about Luke regarding Julie. "Okay. If you guys have to leave before Willie brings Alex back, tell him I said hello."

Reggie drew a very poor thumbs up, smiling when it made Carlos laugh.

* * *

Luke was very much like Carlos in some ways. He had begun to find comfort in what Julie left behind. It had taken him much, much longer than Carlos, but he'd gotten there. Now, whenever they managed to sneak away from Caleb, the first place to check for Luke was always Julie's room, and almost always, he was found in there. 

_Stay out of my room._

It was almost her favourite phrase. He didn't blame her, they were very persistent in disobeying that one rule. Well, Alex wasn't, he just generally tagged along to see Julie yell at them. He found it therapeutic to hear someone else being the exasperated brain-cell-have-er of the group. 

Luke could hear her as he sat in his little corner, staring at the bed. He could see her standing in front of him, arms folded with a little crease between her eyebrows, the corners of her lips tipped towards in a smile she was trying to hide. "You just don't listen, do you?" 

Luke knew he was seeing things. The first time he saw Julie, he thought she'd come back as a ghost, like the rest of the band. He realised his mistake when he tried to hold her and the hallucination faded. But as long as he didn't try to touch her, she stayed.

"I can't help it. Everything you love is in here." 

"Oh," the hallucinated Julie said, smiling fully as she sat on the edge of the bed, "is that why you're in here too?" 

"That's a nice thought." 

"It is, isn't it? But you have to move on, Luke. I'm not her. You know that." 

Luke dropped his gaze. "I know." 

"I know it's hard, Luke. But you once told me that I could let go. I'm telling you that you _have_ to. For Alex and Reggie. They need you."

Luke lifted his head to see Julie right in front of him. "You have to let go," she whispered gently. "For you." 

Luke closed his eyes as she reached out for him. He felt the breeze from the open window shift his hair and he imagined the feel of Julie fingers threading through his hair. He knew that when he opened his eyes, the hallucination would be gone. Maybe if he kept his eyes closed a little longer, her could imagine Julie was still right there with him. 

"Luke? Are you in there?"

Carlos' voice and the knock on the door jerked Luke back to reality. Before Carlos could, Luke opened the door.

"Hi," Carlos said, not looking in any specific direction. He walked up to Julie's bed and climbed up, trusting that Luke would do as he always did and join him on the other side. He set the iPad down. "I was thinking about her today. She always looked so much more alive whenever you guys were all together, even off stage." 

Like always, Luke wanted to leave. But like always, his shared grief drew him towards Carlos and he found himself crawling into his favourite spot on Julie's bed. Luke never typed. He found it a pain and he knew he was pretty slow at it. Things brightened when Willie showed him that voice to text worked for ghosts. So whenever Luke talked to Carlos, he simply had to remember to tap a little circle on the screen of the iPad. 

"I miss her," he said simply. 

"Me too. Will you guys come back for. . ."

"We'll definitely try. It's two weeks away, I'm sure Caleb won't miss us. Who else is coming?"

"I think Carrie is coming for sure. Flynn definitely is. I heard them saying Nick and Kayla might, but I'm not sure. Oh, and Willie, especially if you guys make it back and Alex is here. I'm gonna go pick out flowers with Dad next week. Probably dahlias. Julie didn't have a favourite, but they were our mom's favourite and so Julie favoured them above other flowers." 

Luke smiled. "I bet if Caleb had gotten Nick to give Julie dahlias instead of roses, she wouldn't have known anything was wrong with him." 

Carlos laughed, mostly because he knew Luke was right, but also because he could just imagine how frustrated everyone else would be because he was sure they would notice something off about Nick, and yet Julie would've have probably denied all evidence. He shook his head. "It wouldn't have lasted long. Maybe two days, maximum. She _loved_ you, not Nick. You being dead didn't matter to her. I thought it was weird for a while but she's my sister and I just wanted her to be happy and she was whenever she even thought about you." 

Luke's vision blurred with unshed tears listening to Carlos' voice break as he talked about Julie. "All right, who put you up to saying all that? Was it Reggie?"

Carlos laughed, hiccuping on what would have likely been a sob if the iPad hadn't typed new words for hm to read. "No, it's true! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Luke smiled. Julie was gone, but her family -- _his_ family -- was still around.

* * *

For a while, in the beginning, Ray was slightly disturbed to find kitchen utensils moving around on their own but with time, he got used to Reggie. When Julie died and Reggie ended up trapped, Ray had never felt so alone. Losing two kids made him fiercely protective over Carlos to the point where he was almost overbearing. 

Caught up in his own way of grieving, Carlos didn't even notice. Victoria did, though. She hadn't a clue how to grieve her niece, but she did know how to help her brother-in-law. It took months of work, but eventually, Ray relaxed. 

Reggie's visits helped remind him that he hadn't _completely_ lost two of his kids. 

He did completely and thoroughly yell at Reggie about attacking Caleb, though, but it was only half a minute of that before Ray switched tunes and was suddenly making threats about storming the Hollywood Ghost Club himself. Reggie was too terrified to even consider poofing out for the first ten seconds. The yelling was too familiar, but the fear on Ray's face wasn't. That was fear for him, for Alex and Luke. The mere idea that Ray could be so furious at the thought of any of them getting hurt was enough to stun Reggie into momentarily forgetting about his own parents. 

Before they left, Reggie and Ray spent a quiet couple of minutes talking, where Ray profusely apologised for scaring Reggie. Reggie had confessed that he wished he could hug Ray. Ray had said the same. 

"Reg, how much flour does the recipe ask for?"

Reggie wiggled a single cup measurement and made a circle with it three times. 

"Three cups?"

Reggie wiggled the cup up and down, as if the cup were nodding. It made Ray laugh. 

While Carlos used the iPad to talk to the boys, Ray had whiteboards stuck all over the house. The biggest was in the kitchen for his and Reggie's time together. 

Ray felt a tap on his shoulder and when he turned, the marker was gesturing to the whiteboard.

 _Why are we making a cake?_

"We are _practising_ a cake," Ray corrected. "We're both very good chefs and I don't know about you but I'm a pretty crappy baker."

_The first and last time I baked was those gingerbread cookies in March._

Ray nodded at the whiteboard. "You see? We need practice. I'm willing to bet the one we put in the oven is missing sugar or--" 

Suddenly, the marker dropped. For a moment, Ray thought Reggie had poofed out, but then the smell of burnt cake filled the air and he could faintly see the shape of Reggie in the smoke. The tray clattered on the counter and the pair of them stared at the blackened, charred mess. 

"Or we burnt it," Ray said. 

Reggie picked up the marker. _We're gonna need more practice. And some air freshener, maybe_.

* * *

The only time Willie had let go of Alex's hand was to tie his shoelaces after he tripped -- for the third time. The two of them sat in the same museum Willie had first dragged Alex into. There were far more artworks and sculptures than Alex remembered. Since then, the building had been completed and even renovated once. Funny enough, the concrete bench was still there. 

"Luke thinks Caleb knows."

Willie shrugged. "I wouldn't worry unless Caleb makes it known that he knows. He's evil but he knows how to keep ghosts in line. Just a little bit of freedom or leniency here and there. But tell me again what Reggie said."

Alex's grin was massive as he recounted the moment Reggie had marched up to Caleb and, despite the difference in their height, he boldly and loudly declared that Caleb's decorations were trash, his rehearsal was sloppy, the choreography soulless and worst of all, Caleb himself was just a massive old bag of shit. 

Willie laughed heartily. He only ever did that around Alex -- and maybe Carlos on a good day. "I wish I could have seen that!" 

Alex chuckled. "Caleb lets Reggie get away with a lot but no one's ever said anything."

"Well, duh. I bet they're all dream about mouthing Caleb off like that, so getting to watch someone actually do it is probably as close as they're gonna get and they're thrilled to witness is. I know I would be."

"Maybe after we get out, we'll get you out and then you can tell him straight to his face that you think he's a -- what was it?"

"Spineless, soulless, smelly slug." 

"Wow. You know, I might just say that to Reggie so I can see what's Caleb's reaction to hearing it. I will attempt to record it for you."

Willie smiled. "I'm glad you guys are okay," he said, "you know, all things considered." 

Alex sighed. "I know it's not your style, staying at Julie's--"

"Hey, I know what it means to you, Alex. For months I thought about just coming back to Caleb to stay with you but . . . Besides, Carlos is growing on me." 

"He does that," Alex said with a distant smile. "Cute kid." 

"I miss you," Willie murmured, squeezing Alex's hand gently. 

"I know." 

Willie scowled. "You did not just--"

"I did," Alex said with a grin. 

"I'm serious, hotdog. More than . . . more than Julie." 

Alex nodded. "I know. It feels wrong to miss you more than Julie but . . . but I do. You know, she's gone for good. I'm never gonna see her again. She's the person that brought us back and she was the person that was willing to lose us if it meant us being okay. She made us feel alive, you know?"

Willie nodded too. "I kinda wish I had a Julie but then I remember I've got you and just you is better than being seen by any lifer on the planet." 

Alex couldn't blush but that didn't mean Willie couldn't tell how flustered he made Alex. "Shut up," Alex mumbled nudging Willie with his elbow. 

"I'd like to spend all day with you but Carlos has been waiting since like seven to talk to you and also, you guys promised Carrie you'd go see her last time you snuck out. So, I guess I have to let you talk to Carlos for a little bit. It's unfair that I have to share."

"Don't get jealous. He's only thirteen." 

"Dude! That is _so_ not what I meant!"

Alex laughed.

"Jeez, Alex. You are an awful ghost, you know that?"

The horrified look on Willie's face only made Alex laugh harder, hard enough to fall over the bench backwards. 

"I'm okay!"

* * *

"Are you okay?" 

Carrie nodded. "I'm fine. I just . . . we wrote that song together, you know? Well, when we wrote it, we were eight and it was trash, but it has her name all over it." 

Flynn smiled and pulled Carrie into a hug. "She'd be so proud of you."

"Thanks, Flynn. Did the guys come?"

Flynn smiled brightly. "Yeah! Willie said Alex was _totally vibing_ on stage with Dirty Candy." 

Carrie laughed softly. "I wish I could see him."

"Me too. Come on, let's say hi to the guys before they leave. They haven't got much longer before they have to get back. I told Willie to shove them in your dressing."

"Would it kill you to call it _a_ dressing room? It's not even for Dirty Candy. We had to share it with Miley's backup dancers."

"I was supposed to manage the band. Could you just do me one tiny little favour and let me relish in this moment? We may never get it again." 

Carrie scowled. "Stop implying that Dirty Candy won't open another show." 

"Can we go? They're waiting." 

As they walked, Flynn informed Carrie that Dirty Candy's following had increased by twice as much since the start of the show. She also made sure to remind Carrie that she was a star and deserved all the praise. 

Carrie cursed and nearly jumped out of her skin when she pushed open the door to the dressing room and the lights suddenly flipped on, streamers fell, and a recording from some old movie blasted out, "SURPRISE!" 

"Wow, Carrie, that's a foul mouth you have on you there."

Carrie shot Flynn a very brief glare before walking up to the hovering cellphone. 

_We wanted to congratulate you on the whole set. Alex danced his heart out and says your energy is unp_

The cursor flickered for a while. 

"Unparalleled?" Carrie suggested.

_Yes. That. I definitely know how to spell it._

Carrie smiled do wide her cheeks hurt. "Thanks, you guys. Flynn--"

"I had no hand in this," Flynn said, raising her hands. "The guys planned it by themselves. I, uh, I told your dad I'd take you home after we went out to celebrate, so you don't have to worry about rushing." 

_Don't cry!!!!!_

"These are happy tears, you idiot."

Flynn put her hands on Carrie's shoulders. Smiling, she wiped Carrie's cheeks. "I mean it, Carrie. She would have been _so_ proud of you tonight." 

It didn't escape the boys that Flynn and Carrie still could not say Julie's name. Flynn had been trying. They knew. But Carrie . . . well, coupled with her grief was guilt. Julie simply hurt too much for Carrie. 

But it didn't matter. Everyone came to accept Julie's death differently. Some just quicker or healthier than others.

The boys stayed with Carrie and Flynn for as long as possible, fighting for Carrie and Flynn's phones so they could talk to the girls. When they eventually left, though the large dressing room was large and empty, neither girl felt so alone as they sat together and thought about Julie, even if it hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wake up, wake up, if it's all you do.

_**2 DAYS AGO** _

_Just over a year later, we are witnessing social media once again flooding with messages to the family and friends of late Julie Molina of the once up and coming band, Julie and the Phantoms. Molina passed in November 2020, just shy of her seventeenth birthday, and once it was confirmed, the remaining members of the band seemingly dropped off the face of the earth in an eerily similar fashion to a now twenty-six-year-old Hollywood tragedy, debuting rock band Sunset Curve. Could there be a link between the two?_

Carrie scoffed as she scrolled past a link to a full article. "Honestly, does Buzzfeed not have time for anything other than conspiracies?"

"Okay, but they're right."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Flynn."

"Sorry."

Carrie looked up from her phone and scowled at Flynn. 

"Sor-- hmph."

"And stop reading over my shoulder." 

Flynn made sure to swallow the handful of cheese puffs she'd shoved into her mouth a few seconds ago before speaking again. "I'm bored and you follow interesting people." 

"Fine. But only because we're stuck in here until the janitor finds his damn keys." 

"It's your fault anyway. You're the one that punched two tenth graders, antagonizing all three parts of the high school unholy trinity of basic bitches into locking us in here."

"You egged me on!" 

Flynn shrugged. "In our defence, they were being incredibly rude about her . . . about Julie." 

Carrie nodded. She still found it difficult to say it. Julie's name would work it's way to the tip of her tongue, but she could never manage to get it past her lips. She'd stopped trying. 

"Ugh, I hate this closet."

"This one specifically? You mean you've been stuck in the others?" 

Carrie rolled her eyes. "It took a very long time for me to work my way up the high school food chain. Like, several years." 

"Yeah, and then you lost it overnight," Flynn muttered, snorting.

Carrie slapped Flynn about three times with her binder. "Shut up, loser! You cried for like six hours straight!" 

"Oh, coming from the girl who had to walk out of music class at least three times before everyone saw her crying?"

"Hey, she put her heart and soul into that class. It's still very hard for me to go in there." 

Flynn smiled. "I'm teasing. I know what it's like. She was my best friend too." 

Carrie locked her phone and put it on the floor between the two of them. She lifted her knees and rested her arms on them. Glancing at the manicure she was thinking about redoing, she sighed. "I just wish I could've had more time. We were just fixing everything I broke."

"Hey, it wasn't you alone," Flynn said. "Julie said some nasty stuff too when you guys fell out."

"I know, it's just . . . I wasn't the nicest person. You called me a demon." 

"A title of which you were very deserving when I said it." 

"That's my point. I was horrible when I could've tried to be better and I didn't get the chance to make it right with her. I just . . . I miss her, Flynn. I miss her a lot." 

Flynn sat up properly and pulled Carrie towards her. "It's okay," she murmured, threading her fingers through Carrie's hair, "I miss her too. I'll let you cry all over my shirt if you let me do the same after we get to Julie's house." 

Carrie laughed through the few tears. "You're awful." 

"I try. Are you okay enough to go to class? Or do you wanna skip and cry in the gym with me?"

"She'd kills us if we skipped class," Carrie mumbled, fiddling with the zipper of Flynn's jacket. 

"Yeah, but it's geography and we're already all self-studying that anyway with how often Mr Essey wants to talk about his family problems." 

"True. And it'll just be the one class."

"I'm sure she'll understand." 

"Yeah, totally."

"Now, we just wait until we can get out of here," Flynn said, sighing. "Hey, next time you punch Ferris Valerie's little sister in the face, can you make sure I don't get dragged in too?"

Carrie pulled back slightly to give Flynn a glare. "I'm taking that as permission to punch Sequoia Valerie again."

"Of course, you are. Why do I even bother with you?" 

"Because my dad's rich enough to get us high quality takeout everytime you visit?" 

"Good enough."

The two of them dissolved into laughter for a few seconds.

* * *

Five chairs at the table looked empty. 

They were all sitting on top of one another, silent. Four of the chairs wer occupied by the ghosts. The fifth really was empty. 

"She would've been eighteen today," Ray eventually said. "I used to think that by now, we'd be going out and looking for a car she'd like to drive. I used to think that she'd be going out to a bar for the first time with you, Flynn. I always thought my biggest problem would be being afraid of letting her go." 

Carlos leaned against Ray, staying quiet. 

"Happy birthday, Julie." 

Before Ray could, Luke stood where Julie would have sat and blew out the single candle. "Don't tell them." 

"Was that one of you?" Flynn asked, looking at the empty chairs. 

"Please," Luke added, sitting down again. 

Carrie glanced at her phone when she heard it clatter quietly on the wood. "Alex says none of them even moved." 

Julie's name was faint on Ray's lips, but they all heard it. The loud clattering of one of the chairs falling to the floor shattered the silence, startling everyone. 

"Where'd Luke go?" Carlos asked, sitting up properly. 

"I'll go talk to him," Reggie told Alex and Willie, poofing out after Luke.

* * *

"Hey. Carlos knew you left."

"Sorry," Luke said, pulling his knees higher.

Reggie leaned against the countertop Luke sat on. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Why do they do it?" Luke asked, staring at the table where he watched his parents sit and light a candle for him on his birthday. "Why did we do it?"

"Julie was great, Luke. She was the best and brightest and she was just . . . so great. We all miss her but we can't just keep mourning her death forever. It's been a year. I say we celebrate the life she had. The things she did, the lives -- and afterlives -- she changed."

"It's so easy to say. How can you claimed you're over it?"

"I never said I was over it, Luke," Reggie said, shaking his head. "Maybe we'll _never_ get over Julie, and that's okay. We don't have to get over her. We just . . . we just need to keep going on. Don't look back, remember?" 

"I just . . . I can't. She was everything to me." 

"I know, and I'll bet she knew it too. Look at me, Luke. Do you really think Julie would want you to stop fighting just because she's gone?"

A smile forced it's way onto Luke's face. "She'd beat us back into the game." 

"Damn right. Come on, let's go home."

* * *

Hours after the boys left, Carrie drove Flynn home before taking the long route back to her house. She sat in her car for what felt like an eternity before finally working up the courage to do what she promised herself she would three months ago. 

With shaking hands, Carrie picked up the kitchen knife and took a deep breath. Before she could chicken out again, she stabbed the box and tore the tape open. Once it was done, the weight of the box seemed to settle on her shoulders. 

Julie was in there. 

Carrie spent hours, maybe, going through the box and taking her time with each item.

Julie was absolutely horrible at knitting, but they'd made a bet against Flynn and they'd lost, somehow resulting in the two of them taking a short knitting class and making jerseys for each other. It was quite possibly the most horrible jersey in the entire state, but Carrie wore it with a sad smile as she rifled through the rest of the box. There at the bottom was all the band merch she bought in support. Ray and Flynn had received the first two CDs free of charge, of course, but Carrie made sure she purchased the first ever copy that they sold, some time after handing out copies. 

She remembered thinking "How nineties," but she thought it was a sweet gesture to the boys. 

Carrie sat down on her bed and held the square case in her hand. 

It was Julie and the Phantoms' first album, creatively titled Wake Up and featuring a bonus track that was the song Julie's mother wrote for her. 

_My mom wrote it for me to play after she was gone. It took me a year, but I did it. I've never regretted a single thing_.

Carrie pulled her laptop towards her and popped the CD in, hitting the bonus track. She had heard the band over and over again. She wanted to hear Julie. She wanted to remember Julie. 

_Here's one thing I want you to know_   
_You got some place to go_   
_Life's a test, yes, but you go toe-to-toe_   
_You don't give up, no, you grow_

Carrie's heart squeezed as Julie's voice filled her room. She could feel the tears in her chest, pain building its way up. 

_And you use your pain_   
_'Cause it makes you you_   
_Though I wish I could hold you through it_

Carrie could hear Julie speaking to her. _She wanted me to keep living. I'll always miss her but this is her message to me, and I'll hold it close to my heart forever_. Carrie picked up the CD case and ran her fingers over Julie's name.

_I know it's not the same_   
_You got living to do_   
_And I just want you to do it_

Carrie leaned back and listened, clutching the CD case to her chest. Julie had been listening to her mother, but Carrie was listening to Julie. 

_So get up, get out, relight that spark_   
_You know the rest by heart_

Carrie screamed when someone poofed into her room, screaming as they fell to the floor. Flailing wildly, she shut the laptop, cutting Julie's voice off. She remembered seeing something like that exactly once. 

"Which one are you and what are you doing back here? Luke? Reggie? Alex?" Carrie paused for a moment. "Willie?" 

"Owwwww . . . so that's what that feels like."

Carrie screamed again. 

All the screaming brought Trevor into Carrie's room. "Carrie? Are you okay? What happened?"

"J-J-J-JULIE!"

"Oh, baby, I know today is hard. I'm here if you wanna talk."

Carrie stared over her father's shoulder as he hugged her tightly. 

"Julie," Carrie whispered again, watching the dead girl get up and look around, whining about landing on her butt.

Trevor continued to soothe Carrie, unaware of exactly what was happening behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We discover that some other babies learned to curse as well.

"You _bitch_!"

Carrie let out a feral scream and hurled another cushion. It phased right through Julie and knocked a glass off the counter. When it crashed on the floor, Carrie paused for a (very) brief moment to be glad her father had left early and she was home alone. 

"Carrie, just hang on a -- CARRIE!"

Incoherently screaming, Carrie pulled another cushion off the couch and threw it. 

"Carrie! Stop!" 

"No, you're not a bitch. Oh, no, no, no. You're a _fucking_ bitch!" Carrie threw several more cushions and a comforter from the couch at Julie, who simply sighed and let everything pass through her. 

"What do I have to do to get you to-- STOP!!" 

Carrie picked up the box she had brought downstairs and with a strangled yell, she threw the whole thing at Julie. She was stunned out of her frenzied state when the box collided with Julie's face, knocking her to the ground. Julie slammed several keys on the grand piano as she went down.

"Ow," Julie moaned, holding her nose as she lay on the ground, the box beside her. "So they weren't faking the pain after all. Huh. Good to know." 

"Julie, what the fuck?"

"Jeez, Carrie, what happened?"

"You _died_ , for starters."

Julie sat up. "For starters? What's that supposed to mean? What else happened?" 

"Uh, you know what? Maybe I should let Flynn explain."

Julie groaned as she pushed herself up off the ground. "Carrie, there is a ninety-nine percent chance she's not gonna be able to see me."

Carrie sighed and sat down on the couch. "I'm dreaming," she told herself, "I'm making this all up in a laughably poor way to cope with her death. That's it. I'm hallucinating. Just because I know everything about the guys, now I'm trying to cope with her death by imagining the same thing could happen. It's just a CD, Carrie, it's just a plain old normal CD." 

Julie sighed and sat down at the piano. "I knew it was a mistake to play before she woke up by herself," she muttered, glancing at Carrie. Her head was still ringing from all the shrill screaming Carrie had done when she came downstairs with the box, intending to pack it all up again, and caught sight of Julie playing something on the piano and humming to herself. 

Was this how it felt when her boys had first come back? Or were they just so disorientated because of the twenty-five year gap?

Julie suddenly snapped her gaze to Carrie. The blonde didn't look that much older, but Julie couldn't be sure. At best, it couldn't have been more than five or six years, right?

"Carrie, how long has it been?" 

"What?"

"Since I died. How long?"

"Oh. Um, a little over a year. Uh, we had cake yesterday. For you. Luke got emotional. Reggie had to bring him back." 

Julie felt a sharp stab through her heart. Of course, Luke couldn't handle it. He'd seen his parents do the very same for him. Coupled with whatever grief he had over Julie, he must've thought about how his parents felt lighting that candle for him. 

"Where are they?" Julie asked, standing up and taking a few steps towards Carrie. 

Carrie shook her head. "Why am I even engaging?" she asked herself. "I'm clearly just processing this in a ridiculously terrible manner. I just need a nap. Maybe I should call Dad's therapist."

"Carrie! What the hell happened in here?" 

Julie turned in time to see Flynn walk right through her. She swayed on her feet slightly. Well, that was certainly different to being the lifer in the whole experience. Julie turned back around and watched Flynn fuss over Carrie and the mess. 

"Oh, she cares so much," Julie murmured, tilting her head.

It certainly was a rush of all sorts of feelings. Grief and love and pain and hope and fear and joy. All of it, in one go. It was enough to make Julie's head spin. 

How had the boys not lost their minds with the amount of times people walked throuh them? More importantly, how had Luke managed to stay sane with the number of times Julie alone walked through him? In less than twenty four hours?

On the other hand, at least now she knew for sure that Carrie was probably the only person who could see her. 

"I thought I saw her," Carrie explained, looking down at her tightly clasped hands as she sat on the edge of the couch. "I . . . I opened the box last night, like I said I would and I -- I put their CD on and I just . . . I thought I saw her."

"Oh, Carrie, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm sorry." 

"It's not your fault. I . . . She would've understood, right?"

"Absolutely," Flynn and Julie said together. 

When Carrie's gaze darted to Julie for a second, Flynn glanced back, finding nothing. "Still seeing her?" 

Carrie nodded, eyes back on her own hands. 

Flynn sat down in front of Carrie, looking up at her. "It's okay. I'm sure she'd understand."

"I do, Carrie. I do understand." 

"I just -- I keep hearing her voice and it's like a painful reminder that she's gone. I want to believe that she somehow came back and that I can see her but I know it's just me trying to find a way to cope, trying to have her story be mine. Like the way she met the guys and they -- they made her feel alive again."

"It's all right, Carrie. Everyone gets through it different. As long as you're getting through it in the end." 

Julie stumbled backwards, away from Carrie. She was so caught up in being back and being seen, she didn't even stop to wonder what it might do to Carrie. She turned and poofed out, trusting herself to know how it worked. 

Flynn glanced back when she heard something move, but aside from a metal vase still rolling a little on the floor, nothing had moved. Carrie looked around wildly. Part of her didn't want to be right, but it looked like she was.

* * *

Julie opened her eyes to the garage. She gave a soft squeal of joy as she climbed off the piano. She couldn't wait to surprise her boys. As pissed or confused as they may be, she was sure they'd eventually be thrilled to see her again. She looked around the garage, calling for them, frowning when she found she was alone. 

Where could they be? Had they gone out somewhere? Wandering around the city? Or were they in the house? 

Julie decided to practice her ghostly abilities. She remembered Reggie complaining about losing a few items on some of his early jumps. She did not want to suffer through that in front of her boys. That is, assuming the boys weren't in her room. 

"Okay, Julie, let's do this." 

With a yelp, Julie landed on her bed. She lay there for a moment. "How did they figure out how to predict where they land? Stupid teleporting stuff." 

Julie rolled off her bed and walked up to her dressing table. The photo frame Alex had been so thrilled about lifting forever ago had been put back there. Hesitantly, she reached out, surprising herself when she found she could lift it with ease. She quickly put it back before it fell. She was no stranger to the erratic behaviour of a ghost's abilities. 

"Good morning, Julie." 

"Carlos?" Julie frowned. Could he see her? 

Carlos walked up to the bed and shook his head. "The least he could've done was beaten up before leaving. You know, Reggie said he went to his parents, but I'm thinking he came here." 

"Who?"

Carlos walked around the bed, straightening out the duvet Julie had messed up when she fell. 

"This is Luke's favourite place to be," Carlos continued. He walked right through Julie. "He says everything you love is in here." 

"Oh. You can't see me. You're just . . . talking to me." 

Carlos sighed and looked at his handiwork. "Next time Reggie's here, I'm gonna make him help me change the sheets. What do you think of your bubblegum swirly one? Or the polka dot one? I'll ask dad." 

Julie stayed where she was as Carlos bid her goodbye and left. Her little brother was so grown up already. She wished he hadn't walked through her. The pain he felt was borderline unbearable. Yes, he was happy and he did have a certain lightness in his heart that she always knew he had, but it was buried under two years of grief and loss. Her and her mother. Carlos still smiled and laughed, but she couldn't shake the feeling that sometimes, late at night, it would all be too much for him and he'd cry himself to sleep. 

Julie only noticed her own tears when she sniffed. 

Hesitantly, she left her room, walking down the stairs slowly.

"Carlos!" Ray called. "Breakfast!" 

"I had an energy bar and I'll get something else later! Love you, bye!" 

Julie heard Ray sigh as the front door closed. She wandered into the kitchen to see Ray choosing between two cereal boxes. 

"Those two are going to get into trouble one day, I'm sure of it."

Julie wondered who it was that Carlos was with, but she didn't voice the question. What was the point? She had told Luke that she knew what it was like to want to speak to someone but not be able to. She had told him that she felt the same way every day. 

But now, in the exact same situation, she realised they were completely different. 

She couldn't see her mother. She couldn't watch her mother go about life missing her. She couldn't try to talk to her mother and watch, right in front of her, as her mother could not hear. 

Julie said into a seat without moving the chair. She could see a whiteboard up in the kitchen. The handwriting on there belonged to several people -- Luke's chicken scratch was hard to miss -- but most of the whiteboard was covered in Reggie's. Julie smiled. Even without her, they'd managed to stay connected. 

Suddenly the door opened again.

"So the good news is that I'm getting better," Carlos announced. 

Ray and Julie both turned to him. "And the bad news?"

"I'm no longer allowed to skate in the school car park." 

"Skate?" Julie asked. "Wh-- since when do you skate?"

Focused on Carlos and the skateboard he held in his hand, Julie didn't notice Willie come in after and head straight to the whiteboard to begin his apology letter to Ray. First he had to find the marker.

"What happened?" Ray asked, folding his arms. 

"There was lots of falling involved," Carlos said, taking the helmet off. "Not all by me. Miss Harris definitely wasn't looking where she was going and when I fell off the board, she stepped on it. She's fine, but she's super pissed. Also, she's mad because all her books went flying and she's mad because since it's a weekend, she can't actually give me detention for it. But she called the principal and now I'm not allowed to skate there because it's a safety hazard." 

Surprisingly, Ray snorted out a laugh. Julie turned to him, incredulous. She forgot she was a ghost. "I can't believe you're okay with this!" 

Willie's "I'm sorry" got cut short as he jumped, startled. The marker clattered on the ground as he turned to the counter. " _Julie_?"

Julie realised for the first time that now she would be able to see other ghosts. "Wait, Willie?" 

Willie was a bit distracted with Julie being there to even hear her confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Willie?" Ray asked, picking the marker up. He glanced at the sharp jagged lines on the board and frowned, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Don't say it!" Julie quickly shouted, standing up and holding her hands out. "I . . . I wanna be the one to tell them." 

Still casting furtive glances at Julie, Willie took the marker from Ray and wrote out an excuse. Carlos walked up to read it. He snorted. "Really? A bird scared you?"

 _Pigeons can be very offensive_ , Willie wrote in defence.

"Sure, Wheelie. Whatever you say."

A few pieces fell into place in Julie's head. "YOU'RE TEACHING MY LITTLE BROTHER TO SKATE?!"

Willie dropped the marker and backed away from the island counter. "Your dad said it was okay! We asked for permission! Your aunt even bought him the skateboard!"

Julie threw her hands in the air. "Unbelievable!"

"Another bird?" Carlos asked, just a twinge sarcastic as he grinned and picked the marker up. 

"You wouldn't be giving me that look if you knew your demon sister was standing here and yelling at me." 

"I am not a demon!" 

"You know, you're terrifying when you actually look at me and talk." 

Julie narrowed her eyes. "What else changed while I was away? And more importantly, why can't I find the guys?"

"Oh." Willie's defensive stance gave way to a more sympathetic look. His eyes seemed softer, sadder. His shoulders sagged and the look he gave Julie seemed somewhat guiltly. 

"You are never gonna believe what just happened," Flynn said as she walked in, oblivious to the growing tension between the two ghosts in the kitchen. "Carrie and I were talking on the way here and she's finally said Julie's name!"

"Really?" Carlos asked. "What did it?"

"Well, she opened the box and then trashed the living room, but she's getting better."

"Willie." Julie walked around the counter and stopped in front of the skater. She and Willie were both oblivious to the cheery atmosphere on the other side of the kitchen. "What happened to them?"

"They . . . Julie, it . . ."

"Willie, please don't tell me they crossed over." Julie's hands and voice shook. "Not now. Not while I was gone. I came back -- I think I came back for them. They can't be gone."

"Julie. Julie, just take a breath," Willie said, hoping to calm her down with a comforting touch. It worked on Alex, but that was probably because Alex really, really liked Willie. "Julie. . ."

Julie was borderline hyperventilating. "I came back for them. They can't be gone."

The flickering lights went unnoticed by Willie, but the lifers in the room certainly noticed. 

"Julie, please. They--" 

"What if Caleb got to them?" Julie suddenly asked, gripping Willie's sleeve. 

_okay, so the truth is out of the question_. "Julie, they're okay, they're just not here right now."

"Problems with the lights?" Flynn asked, looking up. 

"Nah. The birds are scaring Willie."

"Carlos," Ray scolded. 

A zap sounded from the centre of the kitchen. They all turned to look. It was the same sound they had heard ages ago, whenever one of the guys would take hold of Julie. They hadn't forgotten it. 

"Uh, I don't think that's normal," Flynn said, looking up at the lights.

If Julie had gripped Willie's arm instead of his sleeve, he was sure there would be nail marks in his arm by now. 

"What if Caleb got to them and -- and he got rid of them and -- and -- and I'll never see them again because one day I'll cross over but they won't because of Caleb and I'll never see my boys again!" 

Julie's knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Willie went with her, if only to stop her getting hurt. 

Carrie, who had noticed the lights going haywire, sprinted up the pathway and stumbled into the house in time to witness Julie sinking. 

And for the first time, Carrie saw what Willie looked like. It was only a brief flash, but Willie was right there, sleeve trapped in Julie's clutches. 

A quick glance at Flynn, Ray and Carlos told her she hadn't imagined it. 

"Julie!" 

And just like that, the flickering stopped. 

"Care Bear?"

As one, Flynn, Ray and Carlos turned to Carrie. 

"I thought it was just a poor coping mechanism!" Carrie instantly cried in defence. 

"Is that -- was that really Julie?" 

Carrie nodded stiffly. "I thought -- I thought I just didn't know how to deal with her being gone and -- and because I knew how she met the guys I hoped I could see her again and then . . . and then it happened and I just --"

Flynn glanced back at the spot where she'd seen Julie. "Can -- can you still see her now?" 

Carrie nodded again. "She -- she wants to know what happened to the guys." 

Julie watched as they all wore the same look Willie had given her. Carrie saw Julie look at each of them in turn, waiting for an answer.

"Caleb has them," Carlos eventually said in a small voice, looking down. "We didn't know until they came back to visit the first time. Willie and Dad tried to hide it from us." 

Julie shoved Willie and stood up. "You said they were okay!" 

"Julie, don't hurt him," Carrie said quickly. "They _are_ okay . . . all things considered."

"After you died," Ray said slowly, also keeping his gaze downcast, "Reggie . . . he lost it. He attacked Caleb."

Flynn smiled. "Luke told us he really got a few good hits in. Completely knocked him down."

"Yeah, but without you, they got caught," Carrie said, "they way they said it, it sounded like you were all that was protecting them from Caleb and with you gone . . . Caleb could lay claim to them." 

Julie thought back to the day Caleb had left Nick's body. The dust cloud of doom, as Reggie named it. Julie clutched the front of her shirt. She could still feel the strain in her chest the day she died. The effort it took to breathe. "He . . . he killed me." 

Carrie glanced at Ray. 

"He killed me to get to them."

Carrie blinked when Julie vanished. 

"Is she still here?" Flynn asked, noticing Carrie's little jump.

"No, but I'm sure I know where she went. I'll go talk to her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who wants super powerful ghost!Julie for no reason other than to absolutely obliterate Caleb????
> 
> Part of me wants to apologise that its taking longer than two chapters to get to Julie meeting the boys but another part of me is like "pay for your fluff with pain & patience"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone finally tells Julie what Reggie did the day she died

Julie's humming echoed through the empty club. The keys she tapped reverberated after her. 

"Thanks, Willie," Carrie whispered, trusting the ghost to leave her alone with Julie. She walked down the steps slowly, catching sight of Julie at the grand piano. 

Eyes closed, Julie continued humming. Carrie thought it sounded familiar. 

"Love me as I am," Julie sang softly, "I'll hold your music, here inside my hands. We say--" 

The piano and Julie's voice cut off together. Carrie paused on the steps.

"How did you get here?"

"How did you?" Carrie asked, bounding down the last few steps and skipping up the stage steps. "Willie says the boys never actually told you and neither did he. So . . . how did you find it?"

"I asked you first," Julie said, looking up as Carrie hopped onto the piano.

"Willie brought me. We found out a while back that if a lifer and ghost hold on to the same item, which has to be something small enough that we're almost touching, we can travel together. I personally hate it, but I had no other way to get into the infamous Hollywood Ghost Club. So?"

Julie sighed. "I don't know. It's a very think-and-poof kinda thing. I'm not even sure how it works. Ask Willie. He's been ghosting around longer than the rest of us. Speaking of, you and Willie seem close." 

Carrie shook her head and smiled. "Not really. I'm closest to Alex. Willie hangs with me to ask about Alex most of the time. But Willie is around every day. Alex . . . isn't. Your house is the safest place for him. Caleb can't get to him there, and now with you back, I'm gonna assume Caleb's never gonna get to anyone there."

"But he has my boys." 

Carrie nodded. "Yeah. But as far as I can tell, they're not making it easy for Caleb. Everytime they visit, Luke and Alex have so many stories about the many ways Reggie is tormenting Caleb."

"Like what?"

"Well, my personal favourite is the story about how Reggie tripped Caleb up during a rehearsal he didn't want to partake in and when Caleb turned to glare Reggie apologised and said it was probably because the sight of him still made Caleb uneasy. When Luke tells it, he says that he saw at least four dancers hiding a laugh. When Alex tells it, he says he was too busy praying that Caleb didn't obliterate Reggie then and there. Reggie doesn't usually tell his own stories. He's not proud of them until after we validate both him and his behaviour."

Julie closed the piano and leaned on it. "What exactly did Reggie do?"

"No idea," Carrie said, shrugging. "They only person they told was Ray and he won't tell us. You should ask them when next they visit." 

Julie shook her head. "No. I'm gonna go to them."

"You can't go where you don't know. Or at least, that's what Willie used to say before you poofed off here without ever having been here." 

"I thought they'd be here."

"They will be, day after tomorrow. They didn't say where they are now, which I think is good because you'd probably try to go after them." 

Julie sighed. "I suppose I have to wait, then." 

"Hey, you've got us to keep you occupied. Don't worry about the guys. I'm sure they're having a wonderful time ruining every possible moment of Caleb's afterlife."

"Good," Julie said, allowing herself to smile. She knew her boys could be stubborn and annoying. She just prayed they were turning the dials up to max for Caleb. 

"So," Carrie said, "this is what it feels like to be the only one who can see a ghost, huh?"

"And this is what it feels like to be invisible to everyone except one teenager." 

"Hey, technically, I'm older than you now."

"I was _almost_ seventeen." 

"Yeah, but I'm eighteen." 

"Right. I forgot it's been a year."

"Come on," Carrie said, hoping off the piano and holding out Julie's microphone to her. "Everyone's worried about you." 

With a sigh, Julie got up and took hold of the other end of the microphone. "How do you even know this is gonna work? I haven't even gotten _normal_ poofing down yet." 

"I have confidence in you, Julie Bean -- surprising, I know."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny, Care Bear," Julie snapped. 

Carrie couldn't even begin to describe the elation she felt at hearing the nickname roll off Julie's tongue, even with the sarcastic bitterness.

* * *

Thankfully, Julie poofed in over the couch. 

Unfortunately, Carrie was the only one who got a soft landing. 

"Carrie!" Flynn cried immediately, standing up. "Did you find her? Did you bring her back." 

"Obviously she found Julie," Carlos said. "Willie came back alone and someone had to bring Carrie back."

Carrie sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. "He makes a good point. But yeah, she's here." 

"So, uh, how long do we have to wait before you can touch Julie so we can see her?" 

"Yeah, I don't think that's guaranteed to work," Julie grumbled.

Carrie rolled her eyes. "I don't know."

"Hey, Julie. Are you okay?" 

Julie sat up on the floor. "Pass me the whiteboard behind you," she told Carrie.

"Oh, thank God," Carrie said, reaching behind her to grab the small whiteboard and it's marker, "I thought I was gonna have to be a medium." 

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad you haven't changed a bit," Julie said, narrowing her eyes as she uncapped the marker and wrote a response to Carlos. 

_I'm fine except for the part where I keep landing on my ghost butt everytime I try to go somewhere._

Carlos giggled. "She said ghost butt," he told Ray, who shot the whiteboard a warning glare. 

_Sorry_.

"Did you happen to see Mom?"

Julie remembered asking her boys if they'd seen her mother. It seemed like forever ago. How much her life had changed since that night -- well, to be fair, her life had actually ended, so, that was something to consider.

_No. It's like the guys said. Little dark room and it felt like an hour or so._

"An hour?" Flynn asked. "You were alone in a dark room for an hour? How are you still sane?"

_Mm, not really 'alone'. I could hear things. It was like a jumble of sounds but now and then, something or the other came into focus._

"What did you hear?" Carlos asked urgently. "Because I totally did not reveal any of your secrets to anyone."

Julie stopped writing and stared at Carlos. Carrie snickered as Julie frantically wiped the board and scrawled out a question to Carlos, written large enough to fill the board up. 

_WHAT SECRETS????_

"Uh . . . well, I can't say them now or everyone will know it."

Julie fearlessly let loose a string of curses as she violently gestured to Carlos with the marker.

Ray watched as Carrie's eyebrows slowly lifted higher with each stab of the marker. "Julie, stop swearing." 

Julie froze, mouth hanging open. 

"Carrie's poker face needs work," Ray explained, noticing the stillness of the whiteboard and marker.

The marker began furiously jabbing in Carrie's direction.

"Julie . . ." 

_Sorry._

"Wait, I have a question," Flynn said, leaning forward on her seat. "How come we were able to see you in the kitchen earlier today? And Willie, which by the way, was cool. We can finally put a face to the name."

"Yeah," Carlos said, "the guys were only visible whenever they were with you, the person who could see and feel them. In the kitchen, it was just you and Willie. Carrie wasn't there."

"Speaking of, why me? I'm not the first person to have put the CD on."

Julie frowned, tapping the marker against the board. She tried to find an answer, coming up blank.

"May I?"

Julie jumped and turned to Willie. "How am I dead and _still_ getting spooked by you guys?" 

Willow grinned and took the board and marker from Julie. "You get used to it. Now, my guess is," he said, writing as he spoke, "it's got nothing to do with Carrie and a whole lot to do with Julie." 

"Oh, hey Willie," Carlos said as soon as the board lifted and he saw Willie's handwriting. The marker waved at him.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked, curious.

Julie watched Willie write furiously, sticking the tip of his tongue out the corner of his mouth. She smiled to herself, thinking back to a time when she was just a girl who could see ghosts who was feeling very amused listening to Alex. _And then when he's thinking, he does this cute little thing like blep -- which is a word I learned off the internet, by the way, and he does it when he gets super focused. It's adorable_. 

Willie passed the whiteboard to Ray, who read it aloud. 

"When Julie was alive, she could make ghosts visible. What if Julie can do the same thing now that she's dead? As for Carrie being the one to see Julie, no offence, but Carrie's the most vulnerable. Out of everyone here -- excluding the guys, of course -- Carrie's the only one still suppressing everything. Playing that CD must've been Carrie allowing herself to grieve, opening herself up to connect with Julie."

Ray looked up at Carrie, who shrugged. "I mean, he's not wrong." 

"Do you really think so?" Julie asked Willie.

Willie nodded slowly. "I think you have no idea what you're capable of."

* * *

"Hey." 

Julie looked up from the piano. She smiled at Willie. "Hey, yourself. It's strange, not wanting to sleep." 

Willie nodded. "Yeah but like everything else, you get used to it. I personally miss being able to finish off ice cream by the tub over being able to sleep." 

"Of course, you do," Julie said with a laugh. "Hey, do you -- did Alex by any chance tell you what it was exactly that Reggie did to Caleb?"

"Which time?" Willie asked, leaning his skateboard on the side of the couch and dropping his helmet on the table. "I personally like all the name-calling. Reggie can be creative sometimes, but my favourites are the bland and simple curse words that he would never use in front of your dad." 

"The first time. When I died. Everyone keeps talking about it like some big thing and then they're saying it's just like every other time Reggie annoys Caleb. But if that's the case, why doesn't anyone know what really happened?" 

Willie sighed and leaned on the piano in front of Julie. "We just don't want you guys lookin' at him different," he said softly, "Reggie's not like that normally, even I know that. I didn't even see it but it took me months to look at him like he was just plain old Reggie, a loveable little goofball. It's just . . . Flynn thinks of him as one of her best friends, Carlos is thirteen and Carrie . . . Carrie had enough on her plate not getting over you properly."

"Not like what? Willie, what happened?" 

Willie traced invisible patterns on the piano. "Reggie completely shut down when you flatlined. It was pretty unsettling, given that he's usually the one to diffuse any situation. He just stood there like a robot. We usually breathe because it's just something that makes us feel more comfortable. We don't actually have to -- you should try it out one day, it's kinda fun -- but anyway, we generally don't have to think about it. Julie, he stood there and he wasn't even _breathing_. Alex and I had to hold Luke back together because of the way he was fighting to get back to you but Reggie? It looked like he was dead-er than any of us have ever been."

Julie exhaled slowly, looking somewhat relieved. "That doesn't sound--"

"That's not it. When the doctors called time of death for you, Luke took off. Reggie followed him. I told Alex I'd stay with you so he could go and stop them."

"They went to Caleb," Julie said, seeing where things were going.

"Right, but the idea was that Luke wanted to go there because he wanted to threaten or bribe or cut a deal into Caleb saving you. Reggie, on the other hand, caught a glimpse of Caleb and completely lost it. Alex said it was the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen."

"Lost it . . . what do you mean? What did he do?"

"Julie, from the way they make it sound, if Caleb wasn't already dead, he would have been after Reggie was done with him."

Julie sat up a little straighter, her eyes widening as a scoff of surprise escaped her. "That doesn't sound like Reggie."

"Yeah, well, losing you and knowing it was Caleb's fault didn't seem to turn him into the best kinda guy. I heard Caleb was nursing a few broken or at least fractured bones for the next couple of days."

"A _few_? How many? Do you know?"

"Uh, nose and arm were definitely broken. I think he fractured Caleb's ankle and femur? I'm not sure, I didn't pay attention to that bit. Remember how I told you we don't have to breathe? Yeah, word got around that Reggie almost suffocated Caleb."

Julie dropped her head into her hands. "Why would he do something so stupid?"

"I told you, Julie, losing you drove him off the deep end. Losing you to Caleb filled him with some kind of uncontrollable rage. If . . . if you want to know more about it, you should ask Luke or Alex. Reggie hates talking about it."

"I will," Julie said nodding, "as soon as they come back here. In the meantime, why don't you teach me some ghost tricks. You're already teaching my brother skating." 

"First off, I gotta say, the kid's a natural. We, uh, we don't go near the streets, if you were wondering."

"Yeah," Julie grinned, "just school parking lots that you can get banned from."

"Hey, that teacher stepped on the board. Totally not our fault. Well, fully, anyway." 

"Second?" Julie prompted.

"Second, I'm free all of tomorrow if you are."

"Well, considering I'm dead, I'm gonna go with yes."

"Try taking a nap. I'm gonna teach you everything I know tomorrow." 

"Do ghosts even nap?" Julie asked, allowing Willie to lead her back up to the house. "I mean, the guys never seemed to sleep." 

"Ghosts don't have any need for it, but now and then sleep is good. Relaxing, even. The best part is that oversleeping doesn't come with any bad consequences. Unless you made plans." 

"I'll be awake," Julie assured Willie as he gently shoved her through the door to her room. "Good night, Willie!" 

"Night, Julie." 

And very surprisingly, Julie somehow managed to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUESS WHAT I GET TO WRITE NEXT GUESS WHAT'S COMING NEXT


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home is where ~~my horse~~ Julie is.

The boys had seen Caleb do magic tricks before. They might have just been illusions when he was a living magician, but ever since he'd died and established his little castle, his magic tricks had become actual magic. 

So, after watching whatever Julie had left behind go up in flames, they did not hesitate to listen when Caleb sent them off. They loved to annoy him as much as possible but they sure as hell did not want to get hurt in the process. Not when they knew it was possible for one ghost to really hurt another, thanks to Reggie's display a little over a year ago.

"That was definitely real," Luke said as soon as he closed the door. "You can't share hallucinations." 

"Yeah, but how do we know it's not a trick of Caleb's to try to get us to behave a bit more?" Reggie asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Alex said, hands on his hips. "I have only ever seen Caleb that afraid twice before and once was when he realised he couldn't get to us with Julie in the picture and the other was when you beat the shit out of him."

Luke gasped. "Alex said a bad word!" 

"I say a lot of bad words when I'm agitated, okay? I don't like changes and Julie dying was a pretty massive one and I was just starting to accept the fact that we might be stuck here forever and then there is a teeny tiny little possibility that Julie was really out there and now I am freaking out!"

"Just take a deep breath--" Reggie started.

" _I am trying_!"

"Should we knock him out now or let him panic for a minute?" Luke muttered, watching Alex begin his pacing. 

"Look, all I'm saying is that if it really was Julie out there, I have way too many questions. How long has she been around? Is she still dead? Is she a ghost? What does that mean for her? For us? Do the rest of them know? Why did she come here? Why did she leave? What happens now? Is it possible for a ghost to go into cardiac arrest? Because I think I am."

"Alex," Luke said, "it was definitely her. I just . . . I just know it. I can feel it. It makes sense now. I thought it was the stage pulling us back and honestly, that nearly made me want to vomit but the moment I saw her, I knew it was her. _Of course_ , it felt like home. Tell me you didn't feel it when you looked at her. It _was_ her. It was our Julie."

"Julie," Reggie breathed.

"Yeah," Luke said, turning to Reggie, "our -- JULIE!" 

Alex jumped and turned too. "Aah! Julie!"

Julie dropped her feet off the coffee table and stood up. "It's nice to be the one spooking you guys for a change." 

The boys stared at her with identical looks of surprise and awe. 

"Well? When do I get my hugs?" 

All three of them clambered over the table to hug Julie. They collided with her with so much force that when they fell back into the couch, they managed to topple it over backwards. 

Reggie was most affectionate, peppering kisses over Julie's face and the top of her head and wrapping both his arms and his legs around her. Julie found herself thankful she wasn't standing. She didn't think she could carry Reggie's full weight and still get squished by Alex and Luke. 

Alex suddenly sat up like a meerkat. "Shh! We don't want Caleb catching Julie in here."

"Right," Luke said. 

They continued hugging and squeezing Julie in muffled whispers of how much they missed her. 

When all was said and done, and Reggie had finally relented, Julie stood up and dusted herself off before picking up one of the strewn cushions.

To the amusement of Alex and Reggie, she began to beat Luke with it. 

"I --" _thump_ "-- gave you --" _thump_ "-- one --" _thump_ "-- job!" _thump_ "What did I say?!" _thump_ "Don't leave them!" _thump_ "What did you do?!" _thump_ "YOU LEFT--"

"It was Reggie!" Luke cried, scrambling up when Julie paused.

"Oh, I'll get to Reggie in a moment. I'm not done with you yet." 

Luke yelped and ducked behind a rack of suits he hated to wear. "In my defence, I thought you weren't coming back. Ever." 

"All the more reason to do as I asked! When a dying person gives you their last wish, _you honour it_!"

"I just said we don't want Caleb--" 

Julie whirled on Alex, pointing the pillow at him. "Don't make me start with you too. Right now, you are the only person I'm not in a foul mood with." 

"I -- er, okay, then." 

"What the hell, Luke?" 

"I wasn't thinking, okay?" Luke said, holding on to the rack to keep Julie from pulling his shield away. "All I knew was that you were gone and it was because of Caleb and maybe -- just maybe -- if we'd picked up on it, we could've saved you." 

Julie really tried hard to stay mad at Luke. She turned to Reggie. "And what's your excuse?" 

"He killed my sister," Reggie said plainly, picking at his fingernails. Unlike Luke, he held Julie's glare with a blank stare of his own. He knew what he had done was reckless and stupid but he didn't regret a single second of it and he sure as hell wasn't going to try to get Julie to forgive him for it. "So I broke his nose. And his fibula. And his humerus. And like three of his fingers. And then I tried to strangle him. I'm not proud of it, Jules, but I won't ever want to take it back. He didn't just try to hurt you. He _did_ and he got you killed. You're everything to me."

"Oh, you _idiots_ ," Julie said, tossing the cushion on the righted couch. "Come here." 

When Julie opened her arms, they didn't hesitate to melt into her hug. 

"You too," Julie told Alex, "don't think you're getting away without a group hug."

"I do like group hugs," Alex said, wrapping his arms around his band, his family. 

Julie giggled. "I like this. I know it was only an hour for me, but I really missed you guys."

Their response was to huddle closer to Julie, resulting in Julie losing her balance and tumbling to the floor, taking all of them down with her.

* * *

Caleb was absolutely, one hundred percent enraged. 

"Why didn't I know she came back?! I'm notified of every ghost that returns in nearly the entire state, why is _she_ so special?!"

Carol Hughes had always kept a low profile in the Hollywood Ghost Club. She was young and naive when she and her sister had died so many years ago and she hadn't known any better when Caleb Covington found them at their lowest and offered a hand in kindness. She always regretted taking it and urging Meryl to do the same, but she never had the nerve to do anything that would draw attention to herself. 

So to be the ghost that Caleb was currently venting to was somewhat unsettling. 

"Well? I'd like an answer."

Well, if the newest additions had taught Carol anything, it was that Caleb was not as powerful as he made himself out to be -- in the literal and metaphorical sense. "I don't have any that you'd like."

Caleb glared at the young ghost. "Why are you here, Carol? Hmm?"

"You tricked us. You promised us a home and gave us a well-decorated prison. That girl out there, she's right. One day, it'll all come back for you and when it does, we will watch in pure delight." 

"Get out," Caleb hissed.

Carol didn't need to be told twice. With a huff, she spun on her heel and left. 

Caleb glared at the closed door. Just _what_ on earth was Julie Molina, exactly?

* * *

"Julie," Luke murmured. 

"Hm?"

"Why'd you come here? It's dangerous." 

Julie turned halfway to face Luke. She would have fully rolled over if it weren't for Reggie hugging her ankles. "I figured Caleb was gonna put a stop to your visits as soon as he saw my face. So if you can't leave, I thought I'd come to you." 

"Stupid," Luke muttered, pulling Julie while shuffling towards her. "You shouldn't have come here." 

"Are you complaining?" Julie asked with a smile. 

"I'm attempting to be responsible and say the logical thing," Luke said, holding her tight. He closed his eyes and nuzzled his forehead against her shoulder, not unlike a sad puppy seeking attention. Even as ghost, Julie still had a faint scent of flowers about her. "Please tell me it's not working." 

"It isn't," Julie said with a soft laugh, reaching behind her to run her fingers through Luke's hair. "But I do have to go soon."

"No," Luke whined, burrowing closer to Julie, as if there was any space left to do so. 

"I have to. If Caleb catches me in here, you guys are gonna have to bear it. I'll visit often enough that you won't even have a chance to miss me."

"You underestimate how loved you are."

"Hey," Alex cut in from where he lay with his head on Reggie's side. "Could the two of you be cute a little quieter? Some of us are trying to mourn the loss of our freedom and you're making it really hard to stay upset." 

"Shut up," Reggie said, briefly letting go of Julie to flick Alex's forehead. "I haven't seen Luke this smiley since Julie ended up bedridden." 

"Oh, call me out, why don't you?" Luke said, annoyance creeping into his voice as he lifted his head to give the back of Reggie's a glare. "See if I ever trust you to keep a secret again."

"Speaking of secrets, did Carlos happen to spill any of mine while I was gone?"

Unable to lie to Julie, they all kept silent. 

"Which ones?" Julie asked firmly.

"Not the ones you want us to be saying out loud," Alex eventually said. "But we don't mind sharing, right guys?"

"No!" Julie yelled. "No sharing. You . . . you pretend he didn't say anything. Who knows, he might have even lied or not known that what he thought were secrets were actually excuses and lies." 

Alex and Reggie grinned and nodded at Julie. 

Luke laced his fingers with Julie's. "Well, that would simply be painfully unfortunate," he said, soft enough that only Julie heard. 

Julie didn't want to know what Carlos told Luke, but she had a pretty good idea. Coupled with Luke's words from the day she died echoing in her ears, Julie was pretty sure she'd managed to find a way to flush crimson. She had never been more glad to be facing away from Luke. 

Alex, however, had looked up just then and caught the look on Julie's face. His grin said it all, and Julie's fierce glare was the only thing keeping Alex from starting the teasing. 

"I have to go," Julie murmured. 

"You really don't," Reggie said, tightening his arms around her calves. Luke didn't say anything, but the slight pressure around her waist clearly said he agreed with Reggie.

"I have to, I told my dad I'll be back just after dark."

"Julie has to go," Alex said, sitting up. "We don't want Caleb trapping her too."

"We can just hide her between the hideous suits," Reggie said, "Caleb would never know." 

"As tempting as it is to just stay right here," Julie said, "I really do have to go. But I'll be back. Besides, someone has to tell Willie that I managed to screw up his chances of seeing his boyfriend for a while." 

"Willie's not my -- okay, whatever."

Julie scoffed as she sat up. Unwilling to let go, Luke sat up with her. "Please. That boy is head over heels for you. The only reason he's staying away from here is because you asked him to." 

"Yeah, well, I mean -- okay, fine."

Julie stood up, forcing Reggie and Luke to let go, much to their disappointment -- something they were very vocal about. 

"Aside from getting back to my dad, I have plans to make if we're gonna get you guys out of here."

"We?" Reggie asked. 

"Yeah, we. Your family misses you being around all the time, dummy, and I'm not about to let Caleb get away with murder."

"Ha," Alex said, "I see what you did there. Okay, now go before they get their hands on you again and you're trapped in a very affectionate dogpile."

Julie could see the gears turning in their heads as soon as Alex mentioned it. "Right. Okay. Love you guys, bye!" 

As soon as Julie poofed out, Luke pouted. Then he leaned back and smiled, thinking about how, after believing he would never see or hear her ever again, he had held her close enough to smell the flowers. 

They had their Julie back. He had his Julie again. 

Reggie grinned. "Whipped," he stage-whispered to Alex, thrilled to be able to say it once again about Luke regarding Julie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAA WE'RE ALL CAUGHT UP I WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT????
> 
> No I'm being serious I'm writing this with a very vague plot idea that pretty much just says "Julie comes back from the dead and kicks Caleb's ass"  
> Let's all just hope that whatever happens next, it's not painful.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb starts losing his mind and Alex finds this hilarious.

"That is worst idea in the history of ideas -- and that is including my very bright idea to skate on a busy road." 

Julie pouted. "Carrie said it was a great idea." 

"Carrie's insane," Willie said. "I'm convinced she went nuts after you died and the fact that you're back isn't really giving her much sanity to work with." 

"You're just upset that I thought of it first." 

Willie laughed. "I'm not jealous of your bad ideas, Julie. This isn't some fairytale or superhero comic where you can just waltz right in and set up shop under the bad guy's nose. This is _Caleb Covington_. He cut a deal -- probably with the devil! -- and he is unrealistically powerful. He knows of every ghost in the area and once he figures out what they can do, he lures them in with false promises. Caleb would sniff you out in an instant."

"What I'm hearing is that the ghosts trapped in the Hollywood Ghost Club are very likely to all have abilities that alone aren't enough of a threat to him but banded together could probably topple the entire club." 

"Oh my God, Julie, are you even listening to yourself? This is a horrible idea! You are not infiltrating the Hollywood Ghost Club or whatever and that is final. I'm serious, I'll tell on you to your dad. Julie, put some thought into it. You know Caleb would catch you." 

* * *

If they weren't all so afraid of Caleb's powers, the entire club would have long since started laughing as he tore up the left wing of his stage. The sight of him furiously ripping out plants was truthfully therapeutic to some of them.

Of course, Julie's boys had no such qualms and when they pushed their way forward to see what the issue was and came up on Caleb, they unapologetically grinned and snorted and snickered.

"You!" Caleb snapped as soon as he caught sight of them. He wildly pointed as he made his way down the steps to the front of the crowd. "Where is she?"

"How would we know?" Luke said, shrugging with Alex and Reggie. "Yesterday, you said we're not allowed out." 

"Don't lie to me!"

"Does this mean that we _are_ allowed out?" Reggie asked, "or are you just confused?"

"This kind of insulting behaviour will not be tolerated in this club."

Reggie's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Is there another kind that you'd prefer?"

Caleb threw a handful of vines and roses at them. "WHERE. IS. SHE?"

Alex couldn't contain his laugh. It was a loud and insulting cackle that he quickly stopped with a slap over his mouth. In the last year, he was the one who had kept Luke and Reggie in line. When they laughed at Caleb, he quieted them. When they annoyed Caleb, he eased them into obedience before it got out of hand. But never -- not even once -- had Alex been the one to laugh louder than anyone else. The mere fact that Alex had blurted out even half a second of laughter was enough to silence the entire club.

"What?" Caleb hissed. 

"Nothing." 

"You know something."

Alex shook his head, biting down on his lips. "Nope."

Caleb shook a vine off his sleeve and shoved a threatening finger in Alex's face. "You know where she is."

"I do not," Alex said, moving Caleb's hand away from him. "I just know that Julie isn't fond of roses, something I learned when you possessed the body of a sixteen year old kid and hilariously failed at luring Julie into the club or slapping a murder tattoo on our arms back then." 

Reggie and Luke stared at Alex with twin looks of surprise. The only conclusion they could come to was that Julie simply made him twice as confident in himself than he normally was. 

Caleb wasn't quite unhinged, but he did look like he was losing his mind. 

"I wish Julie could see this," Reggie whispered to Luke.

* * *

"That is a horrible idea. This is the worst thing you have ever said and that's including 'Nickalicious'."

Julie pouted. "Willie thought it was a good idea."

"Willie's dead," Carrie said. "The only consequences he pays attention to are the really big ones, which you should know, given how you just told me he pointed out some very important risks to our other idea."

"You're just mad Willie didn't like your idea." 

"I am not! I'm serious, this is a horrible idea. What are you going to gain by telling everyone the truth? And my dad? What, you want to put him in permanent therapy?" 

"He deserves to know," Julie said, hoping off Carrie's bed and following her to the dressing table. "They were his bandmates before they were mine and in any case, everyone has to face the sins of their past at some point." 

Carrie paused in the middle of reapplying her lip balm and shot Julie a glare. "Sins of his past? What sins, _not_ dying when three idiots chose to eat hot dogs out of the back of a car?"

Julie blinked. "Wait, you don't know?"

"Know what? Look, I get that you really love the guys, but you can't blame my dad for vanishing into thin air and changing his entire identity." 

The stare Julie gave Carrie was equal parts surprised and pitiful. "Carrie . . . your dad stole Sunset Curve's music." 

"What?" Carrie gave a short laugh of disbelief in an attempt to conceal her confusion.

"His first album is all Sunset Curve music. Luke wrote your dad's top hits, Carrie."

"N-no, my dad would never do something like that." 

"Maybe not now," Julie said, "but back then, he did. Carrie, I . . . I thought you knew." 

Carrie's shock and disbelief threw itself out as anger directed at Julie. "And how was I supposed to know that, Julie? It's not like you're very forthcoming with all your secrets. I had to wait until you _died_ to even find out about the band. When were you planning on telling me Nick was _possessed_?"

"Oh, that is not fair."

"Really? Nick was my boyfriend, Julie, and he left me for you. Surprisingly enough, I didn't blame you for that. He can go after whoever he wants. I even helped him. You had ample opportunity to tell me the truth but you kept it hidden."

"Carrie, I died! I didn't get the chance to tell you. Flynn knew, but I don't see you jumping down _her_ throat." 

"Sorry, Julie, not everyone can stifle their emotions and go about everyday life like nothing's the matter. She was too busy _grieving_." 

"Are we still talking about your dad or--?"

"I don't know!" 

Julie sighed as Carrie turned around and stormed out of her room. "Carrie . . . Carrie, come on."

Carrie ignored Julie all the way to the kitchen. 

"Seriously? You're giving me the cold shoulder? I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I kept the truth from you. I just . . . I didn't know how to get it all out and not lose you in the process. You were my best friend for a long time, Carrie, and we were just starting to fix things. I didn't wanna put that on the line for the past." 

Carrie clutched the butterknife far tighter than she needed to. Her other hand was still around the bottle of jam that she set on the counter. 

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "For months, I was angry at you. For leaving. I kept trying to blame you for it. I saw my dad's therapist for a while. Didn't help much. Your dad took me and Flynn to see Dr Turner. It helped a little. She knew you, personally, that is. I know it's not fair to keep blaming you and being mad at you but I just -- you're still dead, Julie Bean, and I'm afraid I'm gonna end up losing you again."

"It's okay, Care Bear, I get it. Hey, if you don't wanna talk about your dad--" 

"No, it's okay." Carrie sighed. She set the knife and jam down and turned to Julie. "I mean, I kinda suspected for a while. It wasn't hard to figure it out. My name is Luke? Dead giveaway -- pun intended. And anyway, I didn't know who to ask. I was never alone with any of the guys and honestly, even if I was, I don't think I would have managed to bring it up. As for everyone else, I didn't know if anyone knew. Flynn told me the truth about the guys, about Sunset Curve. She never mentioned that my dad was the missing Bobby and I think I was just too afraid to be right, so I never asked."

"I'm sorry, Care Bear."

"It's not your fault. I mean, you were a bit dead to explain." 

Julie smiled. "Yeah, but I shouldn't have kept things from you. Especially about your dad and Nick. You deserved to know."

Carrie shrugged and went back to her sandwich. "Nah, I don't think I'd have taken it so well if you had lived." 

"Yeah, you're probably right." 

"So, how do you want to go about telling people all your little secrets? Flynn should be here in a few minutes, then you can use my phone to tell her your bad idea because I refuse to do it."

Julie frowned. "I have some more pressing concerns. If Carlos didn't tell you about your dad, which secrets of mine _did_ he blab out?"

Carrie picked up the plate and walked over to the couch. "Not really a secret, but he did confirm to me and Flynn that you were _hopelessly_ in love with Luke." 

Julie's jaw dropped as she followed Carrie. "I am not!"

"Please," Carrie scoffed, "I knew it before I even knew Luke was actually a ghost. You'd get all red and jittery whenever I talked about you having a crush on Beanie Bandmate."

"That's because he was sitting there and listening in! It was _embarrassing_."

"Sure. Everyone gets embarrassed when their crushes are exposed. It's okay."

Julie stood in front of Carrie and huffed. Stiff as a board, she gave Carrie her best threatening expression and shouted, "I do not have a crush on Luke!" 

Carrie's teasing grin slipped off her face as she glanced upwards to the lights that flickered twice. At the sound of keys falling, both her and Julie turned to see Flynn standing there, mouth hanging open.

Carrie's eyes widened in understanding. "You saw Julie."

"Uh huh. How? Why? Wait, nevermind, that's not important. Girl, you definitely have something a little more than a crush on Luke, okay?" 

Carrie gave Julie a smug smirk. 

Julie's jaw dropped. "Are we not going to focus on the fact that Flynn saw _and_ heard me?"

"No, we're going to sit here until you admit to being in love with Luke. Here," Carrie added, tossing her phone at Julie, trusting the ghost to catch. 

"I hate you," Julie hissed, sending a text to Flynn with the same words. 

"Denial," Flynn said, "well, stage one is better than no progress."

"A lot," Julie amended.

"Sandwich?" Carrie asked, offering the other half to Flynn. "We might be here a while." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henlo here is short chapter, pls accept my offerings and do not raise your pitchforks and torches I plan for things to stay happy & funny for a while :>
> 
> To everyone on Tumblr:  
> I will now be adding the tag "mara's hold on jatp fic" to all posts that have anything to do with this series. In there you may find links to these new chapters, surprise titbits, previews, possible plot ideas and/or me screaming about the whole thing in general.  
> I am 100% lazy to go find and copy the blog link so instead, please follow [this link](https://mara-melvyn.carrd.co/) and click on tumblr to continue stalking my boring ass. Love you guys ❤


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out, it's not just frenzied panic that affects Julie's visibility.

"Jules, I love you and all but I really think dying has gotten rid of your whole brain." 

Julie's jaw dropped and she blinked very slowly at Reggie. "This coming from the guy that thought it was a good idea to punch Caleb Freaking Covington in the face? Repeatedly?" 

"Hey, that was justified!" 

"So is this!" 

Alex sighed. "The two of you are gonna get us all killed." 

"We're already dead!" Julie and Reggie yelled together.

"I -- you know what I mean."

"Look, Julie," Luke spoke up, "we really love what you're doing. Honest. Watching Caleb lose his mind is the best thing that's happened to us since you came back. But you're also sixteen and you've only been a ghost for like a week. We're worried about you."

Julie folded her arms. "Willie says I'm exceptional and I have no idea what I'm capable of."

Alex snorted. "Willie's afraid you'll kill him for teaching Carlos to skate."

"I was tempted, I'm not gonna lie." 

"Julie," Reggie said, "I'm serious. You have to stop with the flowers or Caleb is gonna come for you." 

Julie frowned. "Wait, what flowers?"

"What? The flowers Caleb threw at us this morning. They were stuck at the piano where we first saw you." Reggie glanced at Luke and Alex for help. 

Luke frowned too. "Jules, if you weren't talking about the flowers, what were you talking about?" 

"Sneaking into Caleb's dressing room and hiding all this things in weird places. What are _you_ talking about?"

"Guys." Alex went unheard.

"The flowers! We thought it was you -- everyone thought it was you. You know, like the roses Caleb kept trying to give you as Nick? We thought it was just you getting back for all of that."

"Guys!" 

"Nuh uh. I didn't do anything to the piano. Where would I even get time to stick them in? The main stage always has someone out there."

"IDIOTS!" Alex smiled when he got their attention. He pointed to the flowers blooming along the wall where Julie had leaned against during her last visit. The tiny little lilac blossoms crept along the bottom of the wall like vines.

"Are those. . ." Reggie tilted his head to one side. "Are those _growing_ there?"

"Who did that?" Julie asked.

All three of them turned to stare at Julie in varying degrees of awe.

" _I_ . . . did?"

Reggie quickly bolted for the mess in the corner, surfacing with a marker. 

"What's that for?" Luke asked. 

"Well, Julie spent most of this visit standing roughly here and bickering with me, so if it really is Julie, then we'll know if more flowers spring up here." 

Julie moved slightly as Regie made an x on the floor. "That's actually pretty smart." 

"This is crazy," Alex said. "Not even Caleb can do that because I'm pretty sure he would have shown off by now if he could." 

"I always knew Julie was a witch," Reggie said. "I'm glad you're a good witch, Jules." 

"I'm not a witch, I'm dead." 

"You can be a dead witch." 

"Dead witches can't do magic."

"Are you seriously arguing that point when witches probably don't even exist?" 

Alex sank into the couch. "The two of you are going to drive me into an early grave," he grumbled. 

"You're already dead!" Julie and Reggie yelled. 

"It's a phrase!" Alex pulled his hood over his face and yanked at the strings. "I can't see you and therefore you are not my problem. Luke, make them quiet."

"Wh-- why me?"

"Okay, ouch," Julie said, rolling her eyes. "You're lucky I like you guys. Anyway, I have to go. Caleb gets to his dressing room in two minutes and I do not want to be here when that happens. I only popped in yo say hi on my out so . . . Hi. Love you guys, bye!" 

"Whipped," Reggie whispered loudly, shooting Luke a big teasing grin. 

A giggle sounded from inside Alex's hoodie. Luke glared at them both. "I am not-- you know what, nevermind."

* * *

Julie relayed the visit to Willie when he got back to the studio. He thought Julie's prank was perfect, but the flowers also caught his attention. He didn't say much about it, though, telling Julie he wanted to think about it for a while before coming up with theories. 

Willie also confirmed Alex's accusation about him being afraid of Julie's wrath, but he made sure to clarify that it wasn't just his fear that made him say Julie was capable of greatness. He really did believe so.

They talked for a while about how Carrie had rejected his idea and he rejected Carrie's. Julie mentioned Flynn seeing her. Willie had just nodded and said it was something to think about. 

When the clock struck nine thirty, Willie picked up his board and helmet and promised to be back safe. Once Willie had skated off with a soft poof and a flash, Julie headed towards the house. 

She knew it would have been quicker and easier on her if she just poofed the trip away, but the feeling of walking back made her feel a little less dead. It was a familiar thing that she did when she was alive. It made her momentarily forget she had died over a year ago. When a stray cat ran through her ankles as she neared the front door, Julie remembered the fact that she was dead and sighed.

She stood at the door for a moment, wondering if she should even try to open the door. She'd tried with Carrie's bedroom, front room, bathroom and outhouse doors. She'd also tried opening the door to Caleb's dressing room. None of them had worked for her. But it didn't bother her. 

This, however, was her home. She didn't think she'd take it too well to find out she couldn't even open the door to her own home. She had the strangest feeling that she would be able to open it, but she didn't want to be disappointed. Closing her eyes, Julie crossed the threshold and took a few seconds to reorient herself. 

She really wasn't a fan of the phasing through people now that she was the ghost and phasing throuh objects wasn't that much fun either. 

Julie caught her dad sitting at the table, head in his hands, snoring softly. Willie had told her that with enough practice and focus, she could be able to lift cars and buses. Julie didn't think she was ready to lift her own school bag, let alone her dad. Now, a blanket on the other hand, that sounded doable. 

It took a couple of tries but eventually, Julie had the comforter off her couch in her hands. She quickly hurried towards Ray before she dropped it. She had just managed to get it over his shoulders when it snapped and she couldn't lift the soft fabric any longer.

"Dang, I was almost proud of that one." 

Carefully and trying harder to stay focused this time, Julie pulled the corner of the photo album from under her father's hand and closed it up. She didn't want to see her baby photos. It would only remind her of how much she had grown since then and then she would have to come to terms with the fact that she'll never grow any further. She was doing a very good job of ignoring the fact that she was dead.

Wishing she had the tangibility to kiss her father's forehead, Julie sighed and took to the stairs. The door to Carlos' room was still open, but the boy himself was missing. As she passed by the bathroom door, she noticed the lights were still off. Would he be in her room?

Julie phased through her closed bedroom door to see Carlos sitting up on her bed, hugging one pillow to his chest and leaning against the rest. Julie took a wild guess on what he was listening to with the headphones -- Julie and the Phantoms. 

"Why are you still up?" Julie mumbled to herself as she took a seat at the foot of the bed. 

Carlos dropped the headphones. "Julie?" 

For a second, Julie thought he could see her, then he looked around to the room, searching. "Right." 

Sighing again, Julie pulled her phone from her pocket -- she could keep that, now! -- and sent a message to Carlos. 

_What are you still doing up?_

The smile on Carlos' face as soon as he read the message broke Julie's heart. It was filled with so much of hope and delight, but she couldn't ignore the underlying grief. 

"I couldn't sleep. So I came to use the stereo here." 

Carlos leaned over and unplugged his headphones. Julie and the Phantoms softly wafted through the room. Of course, Julie instantly recognised the song. It was one of few on the demo that wasn't written by her or Luke. It was Alex's song, but he'd written it for Julie's voice. The band had tried to get Alex to sing it, but he was adamant he wanted Julie to sing. Luke didn't tell anyone other than Julie, but he thought it was a perfect replacement for Unsaid Emily, a track they didn't record because Luke didn't want his parents connecting the dots.

"I like this one a lot," Carlos admitted to his fidgeting hands. "It's about missing mom and -- and I miss her. A lot. Is it bad that I miss mom more than I miss you?"

 _Not at all. Mom was special. Mom's also not here. I'm not alive, but I'm still here. You don't have to miss me the way you miss mom_.

Carlos smiled. "Thanks."

_Willie says you're really good on the board._

The topic change excited Carlos. "Yeah! It was a little hard to learn from a ghost at first, but we made it work. If I wasn't understanding, Willie would find the perfect video that explained what he was trying to say on the phone. It's a little better now. We think I can understand what he's trying to get across because I've spent so much time with him."

Julie smiled at the excitement plastered over her brother's face. _I hope baseball isn't suffering too much. Unless you like skating more?_

"I like them both," Carlos said, "but dad and I agree that skating's a hobby. Baseball's gonna get me a sports scholarship one day and then finally, I'll be able to see the look on Chester Shawn's face when my team beats his into the ground."

Julie's eyebrows lifted slightly. _I see Mr Rich-ness hasn't gotten any better while I was gone. Do you want me to haunt his ass?_

Carlos gasped. Before he could respond, another message came through.

_DO NOT TELL DAD I USED A BAD WORD OR I'LL HAUNT **YOUR** ASS._

Carlos giggled. "Okay, but if you do, I want it recorded." 

_I'm sure i can find time to spook a twelve-year-old nuisance._

"We're thirteen, Jules."

 _I know_. Julie sighed. Her little brother was growing up. Soon, he would be older than she would ever be. He would grow up and she would always be a tragic teen death. For a brief moment, she wondered how her boys handled it. Was it easier for them? Knowing everyone had already long moved on and grown up? Or was it worse simply because of that?

"Sometimes, I'm afraid to go to sleep because I'm gonna wake up and you won't be here anymore. It'll all have been a dream." 

Julie wished with all her heart that she could just hold her brother, even for one second. "Oh, Carlos, I'm not going anywhere." 

Carlos dropped his phone and his jaw. " _Julie_?"

Julie's eyebrows knitted together. "Carlos . . . can you see me?"

Carlos nodded quickly. "Wh-- how are you doing that?"

"I don't know. It's never been this stable before." 

"You've done it before? I mean, after the kitchen with Willie?" 

Julie nodded. "Carlos, before I vanish again, I just want you to know that I love you so much and nothing is going to stop me from being your big sister. I'm not leaving you, okay?"

Carlos nodded. "I wish I could hug you." 

"Me too." Julie leaned forward, hand on the bed. 

Hesitantly, Carlos reached for it. Both sighed when they couldn't make contact. But for Carlos, being able to just see and hear Julie was enough. 

And for Ray, who stood on the other side of the door, tightly clutching the blanket over his shoulders with one hand, the other poised to knock, simply hearing his daughter's voice was enough.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla discovers a level to boredom that will let you believe anything for the sake of entertainment.  
> Julie discovers a new ability when she gets caught red-handed.

"Just admit that you like him!"

"I know you're just trying to get a rise out of me." 

Carrie sighed. "Okay, fine. Maybe."

Flynn had decided to test out a new bluetooth microphone by having Julie wear it and seeing if it caught Julie's voice well enough. So while Julie lay on the floor and stared up at the ceiling, Flynn relaxed on the couch and checked her phone whenever Carrie stopped talking to see a response from Julie. 

"I'll have you know, Care Bear, I have excellent control these days."

"It was yesterday. And I had to explain to my dad why three spotlights blew and I didn't say anything." 

Julie winced. "Sorry."

Flynn snorted. "She blew three bulbs yesterday and you're trying to rile her up again?"

"I just wanna see what happens! Julie had some cool abilities when she was alive. Now a ghost, I'm sure they're manifesting somehow."

"What if Julie can make _other_ ghosts visible? Like, not with performing or anything like that. Just --" Flynn snapped her fingers "-- poof."

"I can barely make _myself_ visible," Julie said, rolling her eyes.

Flynn shrugged. "I mean, it's worth attempting."

"Yeah, I don't know how to do it," Julie said, shaking her head. 

"Nevermind that," Carrie said. "You wanted to tell the truth, Julie Bean. I don't suppose you actually have a plan for that, do you?"

"I was thinking we could just . . . blurt it out and hope for the best?"

"You are utterly hopeless. Flynn and I are gonna have to handle this, aren't we?" 

Julie lifted her head and shot Carrie a warm smile. "I love you guys." 

Carri rolled her eyes. "Whatever." 

Flynn snorted. "Even though I _know_ you're talking to Julie, it's still so strange to see you just talking to an empty space. Part of me wishes I could see Jules, but part of me enjoys thinking you're insane."

Both Julie and Carrie gave Flynn an annoyed glance. 

The knocking at the door broke the little glaring fest and Carrie got up to open it. Julie sat up too but stayed on the floor. She wondered why she liked the floor more than the couches, then thought about Alex's stories about how long it took him to be able to stay sitting on anything without falling through a few seconds later. At least this way, she was already on the floor.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Carrie told Nick and Kayla as she led them to the couches. "Uh, so this is very unplanned and unorganized."

"Hey," Flynn said from the corner. 

Nick and Kayla smiled and waved at her. 

"So, um, Nick!" 

"Yeah?"

"You remember, uh, last year when. . ."

"I can't believe my friend group consists of dead, dead, dead, dead, dead and dumb," Flynn muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Look, guys, last year, Carrie and Julie patched up while we were all fussing over Nick, remember that?"

Kayla scoffed. "How can I forget? I still have yet to see more flowers in spots that isn't a florist's." 

"Yeah, I still don't remember any of that," Nick said, frowning. 

"We know," Flynn said, "but we want you to try to remember because we need your help. We're about to tell you something that's probably gonna make us sound crazy and--"

"The boys in Julie's band were ghosts?" Kayla asked. 

"Are," Carrie corrected before realizing what Kayla said. 

Nick laughed. "Good one." 

"No, I'm serious," Kayla said. 

Flynn, Carrie and Julie stared at Kayla. 

"Holograms? Really? I mean, it sounded like a believable answer at first but the longer I thought about it, the more stupid it started to sound. Besides, Julie was a _terrible_ liar, bless her soul." 

"Hey!" Julie said, frowning. "I'm not a terrible liar." 

"Yes, you are," Carrie and Flynn -- who had happened to glance at her phone -- said. 

Kayla and Nick shared a glance. 

"Uh, who are you talking to?" Nick asked. 

"Okay, fine," Flynn said, "you're right about the guys. But I bet you wouldn't believe us if we said Julie was here, right now."

Nick definitely didn't believe any of it, but Kayla frowned for a moment. "All things considered, I'm not surprised. I mean, it's strange and honestly, a bit far-fetched, but it makes sense."

"You don't seriously believe any of this," Nick said to Kayla, "do you?"

Kayla shrugged. "I trust Carrie, and . . . and I'm honestly very bored. If ghosts are real, things just got a little bit exciting. So, why now?" 

Carrie sat down on the couch. "It's Julie's idea. She thinks you guys can help us, but only if you know what's really at stake." 

"Help you with what, exactly?" Kayla asked, leaning forward. 

"We're going to take down an all-powerful ghost club," Julie said, watching excitedly as Nick, Kayla and Flynn's phones all buzzed with the same message from her.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm not totally sold on this whole thing." 

Carrie sat right next to Nick and gripped the sleeve of his jacket tight. "Nick, we _need_ your help. We're not asking you to try to remember the entire ordeal of being possessed but anything you have could help. For Julie." 

"Look, even if I did buy into this, I'm telling you, I don't remember a single thing. I've never even heard of this Callum--"

"Caleb," they all corrected.

"Right, sorry. This Caleb guy. The last thing I remember before waking up at Julie's was going to drop off the flowers . . ."

Carrie leaned forward when Nick trailed off. "And?" 

"I think . . . I think I might actually have met this Callum--"

"Caleb."

"-- guy. He was there. Really tall. All black and purple."

"That's him!" Julie cried. "That's Caleb!" 

Carrie nodded. "What happened?" 

"I'm not sure. One moment he was just standing there outside Julie's house and then . . . that's it. That's all I remember." 

Kayla's eyes were wide. "So you really were possessed, huh?"

Nick nodded slowly. "Yeah . . . I guess so." 

Flynn folded her arms. "Jules, you still haven't told us the plan." 

"Right," Julie said, nodding. "I don't have one yet." 

"Julie!" Flynn cried. "Having even a scrap of an idea would help. Do you wanna save the guys or not?" 

Nick and Kayla shared a mildly concerned glance. Kayla was honestly bored enough to welcome anything but in the back of Nick's mind, something told him not to believe. 

"Of course, I do!" Julie cried hotly. Carrie thought Flynn was lucky to only read Julie's words off her phone, not be witness to the raging flames of fury that was Julie Molina. "Saving them is all I can think about! Every minute of the day, it's picking at my brain. The only time I'm not wallowing in a pit of worry and fear is when I'm talking to Carlos! Flynn, those boys mean the world to me. You know that. I love them more than life itself and I would give up everything for even a shot at saving them--" 

Silence fell over the room as Julie suddenly stopped. Nick and Kayla leaned over to read Flynn's phone while Carrie's gaze melted into a look of pity when she locked eyes with Julie, whose face was a picture of stunned surprise.

"I -- I didn't mean it like that." 

"It's okay, Julie Bean," Carrie said gently, "I know what you mean. Just . . . take a moment, okay?"

"Jules," Flynn said, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to imply--"

"She's gone," Carrie said, slumping further into the couch. "She took off."

* * *

Luke grumbled something incoherent under his breath as he tore the pen across the paper. 

"Wow," Alex said, "just say you want a new pen, I'm sure we can get you one." 

"Sorry. It's just -- Caleb is in my head and it's starting to bug me a lot."

"Starting?" Alex repeated, eyebrows shooting upwards.

"No," Reggie said, "he's not _actually_ in your . . . and I see what you mean. Okay."

"He is messing with my songwriting. I used to be able to write music in -- in days or less. Now, I'm going weeks without anything good. It's just -- like, the longer we stay here, the more of ourselves we lose. Caleb is . . . he's making puppets out of us." 

Alex studied Luke for a second. "You didn't sound so riled up about this a few weeks ago." 

"Julie wasn't here a few weeks ago."

"Ah. I see."

"I don't," Reggie said, frowning, watching Luke throw the notebook aside and leave.

Alex tilted his head at Reggie. "You . . . always have hope. It's kind of endearing, kind of annoying. Luke lost hope of getting out around the same time he started to accept that Julie was gone. Now that she's back, he wants to fight but. . ."

"He's stuck," Reggie said, nodding as he slowly understood. "Luke speaks with music and if he can't get lyrics and melodies out. . ."

"Exactly. He can't get anything out."

* * *

Meryl Hughes was never quiet. She made a noise wherever she went. If she weren't only mere minutes younger than her sister, their father might have attempted to leave his entire will to Carol -- well, had it not been for their younger brother, Lester. Meryl was still bitter about Lester inheriting more than her and her sister combined but truthfully, she was most bitter about her Aunt Elizabeth absconding with the entire will when their father did kick the bucket. 

Meryl continued to be the loudest voice in a room, even more so after Lester abandoned her and Carol to the streets. Carol had always been naive and for that, Meryl took it upon herself to be the man of the house -- the house they did not have. Even after their tragic death, as the newspapers wrote, Meryl somehow remained the loudest voice in the room. Old Man Rob was convinced he was being haunted when in truth, Meryl simply could not stop herself when presented with a microphone. 

And then came Caleb Covington. Despite every warning bell in her head going off when he offered his hand in kindness, Merlyn followed her sister into his clutches and there she remained for the next one hundred or so years. 

But Meryl Hughes was not about to let her voice be silenced. Caleb might have power over her when she performed, but the moments in between were absolutely hell for him. Well, she grew tried somewhere along the line and fell into quiet obedience beside Carol.

The discovery of phantoms that could be seen without Caleb's assistance intrigued Meryl, so she kept an eye on them. When they too were trapped in Caleb's clutches, Meryl felt only sympathy and empathy. 

If she hadn't mellowed so much with time, she would have been laughing boisterously alongside them every time they did something to ruin Caleb's day. Carol had once said that she was reminded of Meryl's old impish nature whenever she laid eyes upon the mischievous trio. 

Meryl might have found a balance between Caleb's obedient puppet and an outrageously misbehaved lady over time, but walking into Caleb's 'office' threw her right back to her twelve-year-old, rambunctiously inclined self. 

(Caleb called it his office, but Meryl liked to refer to it as a glorified dressing room.)

"What on earth are you doing?!" Meryl cried upon entering and finding a girl -- possibly a few years younger than Meryl herself -- suspended from something in the ceiling and writing on the tops of the walls with lipstick. 

On being caught, the girl vanished. 

"Typical," Meryl scoffed, wondering which of Caleb's new recruits were in a rebellious stage. She did enjoy how they tormented Caleb, but as the last one in, she was going to have to explain the mess to Caleb. "Just like them to escape."

"I haven't left. . ."

Meryl looked to where the voice came from and found no one attached to the rope. "Are you . . . are you _invisible_?"

There was a soft gasp as Julie Molina realised that she was, in fact, invisible. "Oh, my gosh, I'm Miles Morales."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 90% of his chapter is crack and I'm not sorry about it :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It only takes a spark ~~to ignite a firestorm~~.

Luke wandered through the club. Ever since Julie made her presence known, even going out on a balcony was a risk for the boys. They would never complain, but today, Luke was feeling a bit claustrophobic.

The suffocating feeling quickly gave way to curiosity when he passed by Caleb's glorified dressing room and spied the open door. 

Caleb never left the door open, whether he was inside or out. That meant someone else was in there.

"Are you . . . are you _invisible_?"

Luke popped his head in and saw the dancer looking up at a rope. Now, which twin was she?

"Carol?"

There was a soft gasp as Julie Molina realised that she was, in fact, invisible. "Oh, my gosh, I'm Miles Morales."

"GHOSTS CAN'T BE INVISIBLE TO OTHER GHOSTS!" 

Luke winced. "Meryl, then. Who are you yelling at, Merry?"

"Luke!"

Luke looked up at the sound of Julie's voice, frowning when he couldn't see her. However, after a quick tumble to the ground, Julie flickered on the floor, grumbling and whining about -- once again -- landing on her butt. 

Luke and Meryl stared at Julie with the same dumbstruck expression.

"Don't look at me like that, it's not like I know what just happened." 

"Wh-- Julie, what are you even doing here?!"

"Messing with Caleb," Julie said, gesturing upwards with a smashed lipstick. "Aw, I really liked this shirt!" 

Luke looked up at the walls to see several doodles that matched the ones of Julie's microphone and her shoes. "Nice," he said, momentarily forgetting that none of them were where they were allowed to be. Well, maybe Meryl was. Speaking of. . .

"Merry, what are you doing in here?" 

"I don't know. I came in here for something and little miss special skills was dangling in the air."

"I wasn't dangling," Julie scoffed, "I was precariously perched against the wall with a rope for support while I defaced private property." 

"Willie teach you new words he heard when he got arrested?"

"Yup."

"Nice." 

"Guys," Meryl said, "you shouldn't be here." 

"You," Luke said, pointing at Meryl, "are absolutely correct. Jules, let's go." 

Julie accepted Luke's helping hand up, barely even registering that he didn't let go when she was up on both feet. She turned to Meryl before Luke pulled her out the door. "You won't tell on me, will you?"

Meryl scoffed. "And help Caleb catch the person driving him insane? Why, darlin', that would go against absolutely everything I stand for!"

Julie smiled. "Thanks, uh, Merry?"

"It's Marilyn, but everyone calls me Meryl. Your boyfriend just likes to nickname nicknames." 

"Oh, we're not-- no--" Luke and Julie both stumbled over their words trying to explain it all to Meryl. 

Meryl simply smiled. Ah, young love. What she would give to have that again. "Whatever this is, you'd best argue about it elsewhere! Caleb is bound to return soon."

"Right," Luke said, and before either of them could further embarrass themselves in front of Meryl, he poofed them out.

* * *

"Hey, do you think we should check on Luke?" Alex asked, slowly but surely beginning to pace worriedly.

Reggie pulled lightly at one of the pink petals. "Hey, what do petunias mean?"

"Anger and resentment," Alex said, "I learned that the hard way when I tried to give them to a teacher for being wonderful and I got detention."

Reggie snickered. "I remember that."

"Why?"

"Julie left petunias." 

"Let me see. Are you sure those aren't roses? They look like roses to me."

"Look, I may not always know what they mean, but I know my flowers. Botany was a fallback if the band fell out."

Alex raised his eyebrows at Reggie, who shrugged defensively. 

"I -- wh-- okay."

* * *

"Hey! I was making friends!" 

Luke laughed. "Merry's got too big of a mouth on her. If you want to keep a low profile, you'll want to befriend Carrie instead."

"But I _am_ Carrie's friend."

"Oh, no, no. Sorry. I meant Merry's sister, Carol."

"Right."

In the silence that fell over them, Julie suddenly realised that she was alone with Luke for the first time since the day she died. Like a dam that burst, the day came rushing back at her. Most of it washed over, like a calm wave that wouldn't even be large enough to crash. The wave that _was_ large enough, however, was every single word Luke had soothingly murmured to her in the last hours of her life. 

_I love you and I'm so sorry I was so afraid to say it._

Julie turned away from Luke to the arched window, overlooking Hollywood. "At least you guys have a good view," she joked.

Luke joined her at the window. "Yeah, but nothing beats the crowds when we performed with you." 

"Pity about the whole band being dead, huh?" Julie said, smiling sadly. "I know I'm glad to still be here with you guys but . . . I miss the band. Being able to perform. It's all your fault, you know."

Luke's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Which part?"

"Relax, I know Caleb's why I died. I'm talking about how much I miss the rush, the adrenaline of performing in front of a crowd. You introduced me to that and now . . . now I can't have it. Worst feeling in the world." 

"I don't know, Jules, there _are_ things worse than that." 

"Like what?" Julie asked. "I'm dead and the one thing you had that made you feel alive is gone." 

Luke hesitated. It felt like an eternity before his fingers made contact with Julie's, and another eternity before he firmly grasped her hand in his. Neither of them took their gaze off the view. 

"It's not just the music that makes us feel alive, Julie."

"No?"

" _You_ make me feel alive. You're what makes my heart beat again. You --"

Julie looked up at Luke. "What?"

"You are a lyrical genius!" 

"I didn't . . . I didn't even say anything." 

"No, but you fixed the rut I was stuck in. I gotta go write it down, make sure you go home. I love you."

And with a distracted kiss on her forehead, Luke poofed away. 

_Ghosts don't need to breathe_ , Julie tried to tell herself, but she couldn't stop the feeling of her lungs tightening. Her face felt like it was on fire and her heart threatened to break out of her body. 

Julie was pretty sure she was dying again.

* * *

Flynn and Carrie barely shared a glance before both of them burst out laughing.

"I'm serious!" Julie cried. "This isn't a joke!" 

"Oh, honey," Carrie said as she wiped away the tears in her eyes with one hand, holding up a wheezing Flynn with her free arm. "You're not dying, you're in love."

"No, I'm pretty sure I was dying."

Flynn paused to glance at her phone before the wheezing took hold of her again. "Oh, Jules, please stop or I'm gonna die and I don't think I have any unfinished business." 

"This is serious, you guys! Wait, unfinished business? What if--"

Carrie laughed. "Julie, Julie, Julie. I adore you, but you're as dense as a brick when it seriously comes to your own feelings. You always have been. You're so aware of it all, until the most important moment. Sweetheart, I promise you, you're not dying."

"No, okay, fine. Maybe -- maybe I was crossing over! Luke promised me when I was on my deathbed that -- he promised and -- and what if the reason I came back is so that he can say it to me, properly?"

Carrie didn't ask what. She knew. She was there. She had heard it. Of course, neither Julie nor Luke knew, and she and Flynn wanted to keep it that way. But Carrie didn't ask. Julie clearly wasn't ready to admit it.

"I doubt it, Julie Bean."

"Doubt what?" Flynn asked. 

"Julie's wondering if she was crossing over instead."

Flynn scoffed. "I know you, girl, and I know that whatever your unfinished business is, it's not about getting your crush validated."

"But what if it is?" Julie asked, a rare urgency in her voice that only surfaced when she was scared into panic -- coincidentally the same state she was usually in when her bursts of visibility happened. And on cue, she flickered in front of Flynn. "What if I can't have the one thing I want most in the world because once I do, I cross over?"

Flynn stopped grinning. "Julie, you can have whatever you want. The world can't stop you. No one can stop you. Not even fate. I know you don't believe me, but your unfinished business is not Luke. Trust me."

"But what if it is?" Julie asked again, staring at Flynn. "What if?"

"Regret for what could've been is worse than regret for what was. Carrie and I know that better than anyone. We almost lost you for good, Jules. Don't make the same mistake with Luke."

Carrie's hold on Flynn loosened as she realised Flynn was standing on her own. She didn't fully take her arm away, though. "Flynn is right, Julie Bean. Go for it. Just . . . just close your eyes, jump, and trust that you'll be caught. You're not dying, Julie, you're loving. You always have and you always will. Not even death can stop how fierce and powerful your love can be." 

Julie sank to the floor. Calmer and less anxious, she vanished from Flynn's vision. "But what if it is?" she asked again, softer but still filled with fear and worry. 

Carrie knelt down in front of Julie, wishing with all her heart that she could just hold Julie. " _Love_ is a risk, Julie. It always has been and it always will be. In life and in death. You can't let that stop you."

* * *

Caleb storms through the club, muttering angrily to himself. As he passed by the arched windows, he continued to curse violently under his breath, repeatedly mumbling about how much he loathed Julie Molina. 

He stopped walking suddenly went back three windows. He stood in front of the open archway and narrowed his eyes at the gatherings of purple violets all around.

For a moment, he thought about just screaming for as long as he could manage, but then what would everyone think of him? Would word spread to Julie herself? Of course, it would. He really didn't want Julie to know just how far under his skin she got. So he kept his mouth shut and stormed off. 

He would, in a few moments, be glad to have a soundproof dressing room when he discovered the lipstick doodles.

* * *

Alex and Reggie sat together and watched Luke scribble across the page, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. 

"I wonder what happened," Alex murmured.

"Word's getting around that Julie was seen. I'm not sure if we should trust it, mostly because it came from Meryl and she loves to torment Caleb, so she might have just started it to mess with him."

Alex raised his eyebrows at Luke. "Yeah, I don't think it's a rumour. I think Luke ran into Julie somewhere and now he can't get the words out of his head fast enough." 

"Yeah, well, it's better than when he couldn't get anything out, right?" 

"Right . . . but it seriously looks like he's going to break his wrist or the pen."

"Or the book." 

They continued watching Luke, absolutely fascinated, both wondering if anyone would be able to read all of that later.

* * *

For the rest of the day, to the utter misery of Caleb, all that could be heard throughout the club were whispers of a name. Just one name. The name of the one person in the world that visibly caused great distress to Caleb. The whispers weren't loud but they were plenty. Some in disbelief, others in muted glee. The name echoed all around on the lips of ghosts who died years ago and ghosts who died decades ago. It rang in Caleb's ears like a disaster siren. It tapped in Luke's head like a heartbeat. 

_Julie._

_Julie._

_Julie_. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohohhohohoohohohoho  
> I wonder what will follow this 0.0


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flynn spots a pattern.

"If you're just gonna spend all your time avoiding the guys because of Luke, you might as well come to school today." 

Julie frowned. "You can't make me. I'm dead."

Carrie folded her arms. "I'm not making you do anything. I'm just saying, you'll be bored here -- at least until Carlos gets home. Willie's out skating and trying to find messengers to sneak love letters to Alex into the club so he'll be out all day. Your dad has a shoot and that just leaves you home alone."

"Wait, wait, go back to the love letters bit." 

"Oh, I helped Willie write a few things for Alex. Cute stuff. I'll tell you all about it on the way?"

Julie sighed. "Fine, I'll come to stupid school with you. But you have to tell me everything." 

Carrie grinned.

* * *

"No, but then he said he wanted to use the nickname hotdog and I'm telling you, my soul left my body for a minute." 

"Ha," Julie said, giving Carrie a dry look. 

"Don't get touchy about my humor, it's not my fault you died. I tried to get you to see a doctor again, if you recall."

"Yes, and I'll always be grateful to you for trying." 

Carrie rolled her eyes. Julie leaned against the lockers as Carrie opened her own and pulled out the books she'd need. "Look, I just think they're adorable. They're sweet and soft and Willie has no sense of rhyme or lyrics except when he's talking about Alex. Honestly, all I did was tweak here and there. The guy pretty much wrote a love song by himself." 

"That's honestly really cute," Julie said.

Carrie scoffed. "Yeah. Can't wait till Luke is down my throat about what to say to you." 

Julie shook her head. "No, Luke really talks with music. He won't need any help with that, I guarantee it. Now if he wanted to actually say something, then he might need . . . Why are you looking at me like that?" 

Carrie closed her locker and headed down the hallway. 

"Carrie! Hey, Carrie, what was that look for? Carolyn Wilson, don't you walk away from me! I'll haunt your dad!"

Carrie laughed. The bustling students paid her no attention for once and for that, she was immensely grateful. "Boy, am I glad no one heard you use my full name." 

"Hey, Carrie?" 

Carrie stopped walking when someone stepped into her path. "Sorry," she said, pulling out airpods that weren't on, "did you say something?" 

"Oh! Oh, you're talking to someone? I can wait if--"

"It's not important, Blake, don't worry. Is this about the science project?"

Julie's jaw dropped. "Not important?! You dragged me out here!" 

Carrie continued discussing her project with Blake, doing a very good job of ignoring Julie.

"I'm the most important person in your life! I'm your Julie Bean! Hey! _Carrie_! Hey, you can't ignore me forever!" 

"One second," Carrie told Blake with a polite smile. If it worked for Julie, she was sure it would work for her. Putting all her faith into it, Carrie shot Julie a glare before stomping her foot down on Julie's. Hard. She laughed breezily and smiled at Blake. "Ugly bug," she said, ignoring Julie's hopping and violent cursing. 

"O-okay. So, you'll send me your part this weekend?"

"Sure thing. I'll see you in class, okay?"

"Okay."

Carrie waved as Blake left and made sure she shoved her airpods back in her ears before walking away. "Stop trying to distract me when I'm talking to people, Julie Bean. It's rude."

"You stood on my foot!" Julie screeched, unafraid of being heard or seen. " _Hard_!!"

"You deserved it," Carrie said carelessly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Now, be quiet in this class, it's my favourite."

"It's music," Julie snapped, following Carrie in. "Obviously." 

"And stay calm. Flynn has a performance today and I told her parents and Ray I'd record it for them." 

"Flynn said Ms Harrison started asking for all phones to be put away after hers blew up during a lesson." 

"I didn't say I'd video it. Just recording."

Julie frowned. "But Flynn's entire vibe is so . . . visual." 

Carrie pulled her airpods out again, telling Julie that would be the end of the conversation. Julie discovered it was because Ms Harrison had just walked in. 

Quickly, Julie hopped onto the piano to stay out of everyone's way. In this class, she was the only one who played. 

"Okay, everyone, today is our last day of these performances. Is Flynn here?"

"Sorry I'm late!" Flynn cried, rushing in. 

Ms Harrison nodded and gestured to the piano before turning to address her class. "Now remember, the purpose of this is to expose you to something you aren't comfortable with or you aren't confident in. I have to say, I'm very impressed with the effort everyone has put into their performances. Each of you have shown your talents extend beyond the styles you have chosen for yourselves. Flynn, are you ready?"

Julie, who was frowning at Flynn, shot Carrie a confused glance. Carrie pretended not to notice as she set her phone on her desk, face down.

Flynn looked right through Julie at Ms Harrison. "Yes. Uh, this piece is something Julie was working on before she got sick. She never did finish it, but I thought it'd be a nice and short piece for my performance. Honestly, I'm still not sure how Julie -- or anyone really -- can play the piano with such ease. I'm not a hundred percent with it, obviously, but it's important to Julie and that makes it important to me." 

"Does she know I'm here?" Julie asked Carrie, who almost imperceptibly shook her head. 

When Flynn looked at Carrie, Carrie gave her a warm smile and an encouraging nod.

"Take your time," Ms Harrison said gently, knowing how close Julie was to Flynn. 

Flynn nodded to herself and took a deep breath. She could do this. She smoothed out the sheet of paper that looked as though it had once been crumpled and positioned her hands over the keys.

As soon as Ms Harrison had given them the assignment, almost six months ago, Flynn knew without a doubt that the music style she was going to try for was Julie's. The guys had managed to persuade Carrie into adapting a Sunset Curve sound, but Flynn couldn't be swayed. In recent weeks, Flynn had nearly forgotten about it, what with having Julie return to them as a ghost. Of course, she had no time to change her performance, but even if she did, she knew she wouldn't. Ghost or not, Julie was still dead to the rest of the world and she deserved to never be forgotten. Every note played and every word sang was a reminder of the young girl that wrote them, a reminder that, though dead, Julie wasn't gone.

Julie, on the other hand, thought she was going to melt into a puddle of tears. She didn't even think anyone would find her unfinished songs. She remembered being so terribly bored on the first day she was bedridden. She'd stashed the paper away when her vision was too hazy to see and her mind to fuzzy to think. When she next woke up, it had completely slipped her mind and she didn't think about until she had reached the point of barely being awake enough to have a conversation longer than five minutes. 

No one else could see Julie seated on the piano, the fondest smile on her face, the happiest tears in her eyes -- until they could and several students screamed. 

Carrie hadn't even realised what happened until she noticed where everyone's gaze was pinned. 

Julie barely heard a thing, gaze fixed on Flynn. 

" _Julie_? Wh-- what are you doing here?"

"I wrote that about you and Carrie," Julie said, either oblivious to or ignoring the terrified stares she got from all angles. "When you were taking care of me after I got sick. I . . . I forgot about it until now." 

Nick had never been fully convinced by the ghosts idea. Something in his mind reminded him that ghosts weren't real. Something always spoke over the doubts that Carrie was telling the truth. Something always kept him believing that Carrie just couldn't cope with Julie's death.

But the proof that was Julie Molina right in front of his eyes was undeniable. 

And it was the sight of her, looking very much alive, that drowned the stern voice in his head and opened the floodgates.

Attention quickly flew from Julie to Nick when he collapsed and the student beside him screamed. When they looked back at the piano, there was no Julie. Ready to chalk it up to Flynn's incredible rendition of Julie's sound, they scrambled to help Nick. 

But there was no Nick either.

* * *

"Come on, Julie, stay focused. You got this. Stay--"

"Ugh, Julie?"

Julie gasped, thrilled that Nick could hear her. "Nick! How do you feel?"

"I had the strangest dream," Nick said, sitting up. "You were dead, can you believe it?"

"Nick."

Nick laughed through a yawn. He blinked bleary eyes at Julie. "As if anything could take out _Julie Molina_."

"Nick, wake up. I am dead."

Nick laughed again, clearer this time. "Very funny. Hey . . . didn't I have chocolates with me?"

"Oh, boy," Julie mumbled to herself. "Nick. Hey, Nick, look at me." 

Julie snapped her fingers in front of Nick's face. "Hey! Focus, Nick. How many fingers am I holding up?" 

"Mm, two." 

"Okay, good. Good, that's good. Now, try and remember this: Julie Molina is dead." 

"No, silly, you're standing right here."

"Nick, repeat after me. Julie Molina is dead." 

"Fine, if it'll somehow make you feel better. Julie Molina is dead." 

Julie nodded. "It has been over a year since Julie Molina died."

"It has been over a year since Julie Molina died," Nick repeated, giving Julie a funny look. 

Julie nodded again. "Good. Good. It has been almost two years since Caleb Covington possessed you." 

Nick sighed. "It has been almost two years since Caleb Covington possessed y--" 

When Nick stopped and stared quizzically at Julie, she simply raised her eyebrows in question.

"Me," Nick said softly. "Caleb Covington possessed _me_."

"That's correct. He did." 

"But why? What did he want with-- no, not me. You. He wanted you. You -- you're -- you died. I saw your body in that coffin. You -- you -- you're dead." 

"I am. I'm so sorry it's all coming out like this, Nick. If I'd known your memories were suppressed, I could have been gentler about it. I am so, _so_ sorry."

Nick took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. While it didn't fully calm him, it did make things a little better. He had enough with about him to ask questions. 

"If you're dead, how are you here, now?"

"Surprisingly enough, I think I'm controlling that. You can see me because I want you too."

Nick shook his head. "No, I meant how are you here? Walking around? The school, here. . ."

"Ah. Well, there's still something I need to do before I can leave for good. It's what's keeping me here, my unfinished business. I'll be a ghost as long as that stays unfinished, whatever it is."

"Okay," Nick said slowly. "Shouldn't ghosts like, not be able to touch living people?" 

Julie knew that Nick was asking her all sorts of questions to distract himself from whatever else he was remembering. Julie couldn't blame him, so until he ran out of things to ask, Julie focused hard on staying visible so she could answer it all.

* * *

"Carrie! Carrie, hold up!"

Carrie slowed from a sprint to a walk, waiting for Flynn to join her. 

"Wait," Flynn said, stopping Carrie in between the trees around the pathway to Julie's front door. "I figured it out." 

"Figured what out?" 

"Why the rest of us can see Julie sometimes. It's not just when she's panicking beyond help. It's when her emotions are running too high for her to keep it in check."

Carrie raised her eyebrows, waiting for more. 

"Think about it. The first time, she was panicking over the guys. She thought they were gone for good. The next time it happened, you were teasing her about Luke. Both of those were states of panic. But today at school and before with Carlos, it wasn't panic. I don't know what she was feeling but she was feeling it hard. It -- it's almost like she forgets she's a ghost and that unlocks her ability to stay visible."

Carrie nodded slowly. "Okay . . . that makes sense."

Flynn suddenly punched Carrie's arm lightly. "You didn't tell me you were bringing Julie to see my performance!"

"You'd have been nervous if you knew. I wanted her to see how much you missed her."

"Girl, I don't know if I hate you or love you, but thanks. Now, let's go handle Nick and then present our theories to Julie."

Carrie's eyes widened. "I completely forgot about Nick."

* * *

Julie sat on the couch next to Nick. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"It's not your fault. You didn't ask for it -- you didn't ask for any of this. If anyone should be sorry it's--"

"No," Julie said, shaking her head. "No, you have nothing to be sorry for. None of it was your fault and I know you want to blame yourself but you can't because you aren't to blame for any of it. If anything, be angry. Be furious. Caleb stole your freedom and used you to get to me and it worked. If you feel anything at all, let it be enough hatred that you help me take him down." 

Nick held Julie's gaze for a moment. It was easy to see why he liked her, why he had once wanted to be with her. She was passionate -- and not just in her music. Julie was passionate about everything. Whatever she did, she put her heart and soul into it. She poured everything she was into her relationships. 

"Okay. What do you need me to do?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, I wonder what I'll do next...


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie finally talks about her feeling honestly. Nick is having a crisis between the lines but we'll deal with that later.

"The first thing we need to do is come up with an explanation for the mass hallucinations at school today," Carrie said, startling Nick and Julie. 

"Hey," Flynn said, grinning proudly, "you're still visible!" 

Julie grinned. "Yeah! I mean, I've been practicing, but without you lifers around to test, it's been hard. I didn't wanna test it out on strangers in case I lost it in the middle of talking to one of them."

"Lifers?" Nick asked. 

"Living people," the other three replied together. 

"And Carrie's right," Julie continued, glancing at Nick, "we must've left chaos at school."

"Chaos is an understatement," Flynn scoffed, "Kayla and I had to convince everyone that they were just seeing things."

"Yeah, and I managed to convince everyone that Nick wasn't even in class today," Carrie said, "we think the confusion and bewilderment helped us sound more believable but once things settle and they start putting some thought into it, people are gonna figure out that we're lying." 

"Speaking of, where _is_ Kayla?" Nick asked. 

"Covering for me and Carrie at school. Spinning stories about us being too distraught after the Julie episode or something. We promised to fill her in as soon as she gets out."

"You two are cutting class?" Julie cried. "That's not allowed!" 

"Thank you for that, Captain Obvious," Carrie said, rolling her eyes. "Now, who's got some ideas for an excuse?"

"You're lucky I can't touch you guys anymore or we'd be having a much more violent fight right now. You can't just skip class!"

"Ideas," Carrie said to Flynn and Nick, ignoring Julie. "We can come up with a few before Kayla gets here."

* * *

Flynn sighed and looked around. "Okay, so who has any good ideas on how to get the guys back for good?"

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response. "Julie, Carrie, put your hands down, we're not hosting a ghost concert and we are not sacrificing Caleb to Satan -- mostly because Satan wouldn't want Caleb anyway."

Nick raised his hand hesitantly. "When did we start discussing how to break into a ghost club and lay siege to a very very very terrifying and powerful ghost? I'm pretty sure we have more pressing concerns." 

Flynn nodded. "You're right. We do. Carrie, Julie, stop focusing on our long term goals. We need to come up with an excuse as to what happened at school today."

"People were already talking about it when we left," Kayla said, having made her way to Julie's as soon as school got out. "By tomorrow, people are gonna have questions." 

"What if we just told the truth?" Julie suggested. When everyone turned to look at her, she swung her legs off the back of the couch and sat up. "Who said ghosts have to stay a secret? I kept the guys a secret because I didn't want to be labelled as the insane kid. Who said Caleb's mousetrap is the only way to get into meeting a ghost?"

Each of them fumbled for a reason, all of them coming up blank.

Julie grinned now. "Who said we can't reveal ghosts to the world?"

* * *

"That is the worst idea in the history of ideas," Alex said as soon as Julie stopped talking. "Do you just visit us to tell us about your horrible ideas that Carrie, Flynn and Willie approved of or will there come a day when the sight of you doesn't attempt to give me a panic attack?"

"I think it's great," Reggie said, grinning in response to Julie's appreciative but wild gesturing to him. 

"You think it's great because you're a crackhead. Luke? Some input would be nice." 

Luke, who had been silent ever since Julie said she had important news, sighed. "I think it's a bad idea." 

Julie and Reggie's faces fell. 

"That said, I think you should do it. You're right, who said we had to stay secret? There's no ghost law. There's barely anyone to tell you how to work the ropes. It might be a bad idea but that doesn't mean I'm not for it."

"Luke," Alex cried, "I can't believe you're telling Julie to go for it when you just said it's a bad idea."

"I have just enough brain cells to know when something is a bad idea and I'm missing just enough to still do it."

"Wh-- okay. Listen, Julie, maybe you should be laying low--" 

"Why should she?" Luke asked. Now that he'd spoken up, he wouldn't quiet again easily -- well, not unless Julie asked him to. And she didn't. She simply watched Luke stare at Alex as he gestured in her direction. "Why should she have to lie low and be quiet? She didn't ask for this -- she didn't ask for any of this and look what it got her. It got her _dead_ , Alex."

Reggie made a small movement, probably to remind Luke that Julie was still there, but with an inconspicuous grasp on his wrist and a slight shake of her head, Julie quieted Reggie before he even spoke. Luke was rarely the serious one. If he was, something was wrong. 

And judging by the look on Alex's face as he made little to no effort to get in a response, he could tell too.

"Why should Julie have to be the one playing it safe when she was _murdered_? And before you try to argue, I'm not hearing any of it. Caleb _murdered_ Julie and we all know that. So why? Why should Julie not go out and make a noise? Why should she pretend like she's gone when she has the ability to show everyone she's never been more alive? Julie didn't ask for us to turn her life inside out but we did. Julie didn't ask for all of this and now she's paying the price. The least she can have is doing whatever the hell she wants with her gifts." 

The room fell into a tense silence as Luke stopped and all four of them suddenly realised how loud he was yelling -- and that half of Julie was hidden behind Reggie. 

It wasn't that she was afraid of Luke. Julie could never be afraid of her boys. But afraid _for_ them? Well, that was an entirely different story. And Julie was very afraid for Luke and his impulsivity. Who knew what he'd do when he got riled up about their situation?

Alex glanced at Julie, a soft and tender look in his eyes. Though he kept his gaze on her, he spoke to Luke. "Julie can do whatever she wants. She's always been able to. As if anything could stop Julie Molina." 

Julie smiled. She loved her boys immensely and it always warmed her heart when she was reminded that they loved her back just as much.

* * *

"Are we going to talk about it?" 

Julie knew exactly what Luke meant. She knew it instantly. But her body went rigid and her walk turned stiff. Instead of responding, she stopped and turned to an open archway bordered with purple violets. "This wasn't here last time."

Luke knew that Julie was avoiding the question but he let it slide. After all, they were both dead and ghosts who had all of eternity to wait for Julie to figure herself out. "Didn't we tell you about it?" 

"Tell me about what?" Julie asked, turning away from the small blossom she was admiring.

"The flowers. It's all you."

Julie laughed. "No it's just coincidence. Besides, it hasn't happened since, has it?"

Luke glanced at the flowers along the archway. "And let's not get into the way Caleb screamed when he found yellow roses in his dressing room a few days after the lipstick doodles." 

"No, let's. I wanna hear about that." 

"Do you really? Or are you just looking for another excuse to avoid everything?" When Julie turned away and faced the window, Luke leaned on the wall beside it, beside the purple violets. "Carlos showed me the song. The one you were working on before you. . ."

It was always so easy to say that they were dead. Luke hadn't thought much of it except for the moments when he wanted to desperately hold his mother and tell her he was okay. But for the most part, talking about being dead had never been much of an issue for him. However, talking about the fact that Julie was dead left a bitter taste in his mouth. Every single time. Perhaps it was because to him, Julie was life. _She_ was the light at the end of the tunnel. Julie should have been alive and had they not meddles with Caleb, he probably wouldn't have got to Julie. 

"Jules, you know I--" Luke stopped abruptly when Julie vanished with a pop. 

For a moment, he thought it was hilarious that Julie would literally poof out to avoid talking about her feelings when she was the most open about them out of the entire band. Then a purple blossom moved and Luke didn't feel any wind. The memory of Julie materializing in Caleb's dressing room _after_ hearing her voice sounding resurfaced.

"Julie, that's not very mature of you." 

"Sorry," Julie said meekly after a few seconds. "It just happened." 

Luke _felt_ as though he smiled in the right direction but he couldn't be sure. "You don't have to be afraid, Jules. We can take forever if that's what you need." 

He held his hand out in front of him, out for Julie -- reminiscent of the first time he'd done that and Julie's hand had gone through his. He couldn't help the giddy grin that crossed his face when he felt Julie place her hand in his and squeeze. Slowly, with at least two short and quick flickers, Julie was visible again. 

"I'm not afraid of you, Luke. I'm not afraid of us or anything." 

"Then what is it? I'll admit, you dying wasn't on my list of solutions but it did do quite a fantastic job at eliminating the ' _can't_ ' factor."

Julie grinned. 

Luke took hold of her other hand. "Unless," he said slowly, leaving pauses for Julie to interrupt and deny it, "it's not about being unable to be together . . . but about not wanting--"

"NO!" Julie's shout was loud and furious, startling Luke with the ferocity in her eyes. She squeezed his hands reassuringly. "No, that -- that's completely off course." 

"Oh, good. Good because I'm pretty sure I would have ceased to exist if that were true."

Julie gave a brief smile at Luke's joking tone. "But that is exactly my issue."

"Okay, is it just me or have you become really confusing since you died?"

"Ha ha, I'm trying to be serious, Luke. It's just . . . before I died, I thought about it a lot. Dying, that is. I thought about you guys, about Willie, Caleb, just ghosts in general. You guys all have some unfinished business. For a while, I wondered if I would have any. I didn't think I did. I wondered what it would be for days. I _had_ \-- have -- a wonderful family. I have music, I have a beautiful band. I even got Carrie back. There wasn't anything else I wanted. 'Cept you."

Luke didn't dare speak up. For weeks, Julie had been avoiding this. He was aftaid that if he stopped her now, he'd never hear what else she had to say. 

Julie glanced down at their hands. "I love you, Luke. More than I was supposed to. You're right that my being dead is a morbidly good way to get a fee obvious obstacles out of the way but . . . before I died, you were all that I didn't have. I didn't have a single regret about my life, except keeping secret how I felt. What if . . . what if _you_ are my unfinished business? What happens then?" 

"Julie. . ." Luke trailed off, not having an answer for her. 

"Maybe I'm wrong. But I don't want to risk it until after I get you guys away from here."

Luke's downcast gaze lifted and his face brightened. "What was that?" 

"I love you too much to risk leaving you, Luke. But after, when Caleb can't get to any of you anymore, then I have no reason to hold back. When I'm sure you're safe, then I'll be okay."

"Okay," Luke said, nodding. He gave her an almost childlike grin. "You're the boss." 

Despite her fears and worries, Julie stood up on tiptoes and kissed Luke's cheek. "I'll come back again." 

Luke was left in the open archway, surrounded by big and bright purple violets and blooming tulip buds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter?? From me??? It's more likely than you think!!
> 
> p.s. between trying to get my learner's & starting a new job, I'm not finding that much time to write. However, I do have a couple minutes now and then and I use them to waste away on tumblr. Check out the hashtag :mara's hold on jatp fic" to see some tidbits & general screaming about this au :>
> 
> Love y'all and thank you for patiently waiting so long ❤❤❤❤


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie throws a mini concert and pisses Caleb off big time.

"This is the worst idea in the history of ideas."

"Well, duh. It's Julie's."

A student behind Flynn and Carrie leaned towards them. "Hey, I heard what you guys just said and . . . well, are you talking about Julie Molina? The, um, the _dead_ Julie Molina?"

Flynn, who was absolutely exhausted by having to carry the weight of being the only person with a working brain, sighed defeatedly. "That's the one."

"Uh . . . okay." 

Carrie sighed as well. "You think too much, Flynn. Besides, we managed to gather everyone here so we can't exactly back out now. We'll be made a laughingstock."

" _That's_ your concern?" Flynn cried, turning to stare at Carrie. "Not the fact that Julie's about to do one of the stupidest things she's ever done in her life?"

"She's already dead, what's the worst that could happen?"

Flynn raised her eyebrows. "You know, it's times like this that I miss Alex. He's the only other person here who actually thinks."

"He _overthinks_ , actually."

"I hate you." 

"Mhm, sure."

Flynn groaned and dropped her head, massaging her temples. "I need a nap. A long one." 

"Come on, Julie just arrived." 

Flynn whined incoherently as Carrie grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the wings and up on stage. 

" _There_ you are!" Principal Lessa said when she saw them. "What are you two up to with all of this?"

Flynn shot Carrie a glare and shoved her in front of the empty mic stand. 

"So, three days ago, word spread like wildfire that our music class saw Julie Molina appear randomly and then vanish. Word also spread that Nick was in class and somehow vanished too."

The crowd's murmuring started up as students told their unaware friends and classmates about what had happened and teachers huddled around Ms Harrison to ask if she'd seen the same. 

"Is it true?" someone yelled. 

Another student scoffed loudly from a different corner of the gathering. "Don't be daft, obviously not."

"We put this together so we can show you the truth," Carrie said. Flynn leaned towards Carrie and whispered something in her ear. "It's what Julie wanted." 

Julie's name washed over the students and teachers in murmured whispers. Confusion grew when Carrie and Flynn shot a thumbs up to the seemingly empty piano and quickly rushed backstage. 

Julie, on the other hand, found her nerves a wreck.

"Hey. You got this."

"Thanks, Willie." Julie sat down behind the piano -- the same one she'd used to earn her spot back, the same kne she'd used the very first time she played with her boys. "Part of me wishes I'd chosen a day when Caleb wasn't performing and they weren't bound to the performance. Then maybe they'd find a way to be here."

Willie scoffed as Carrie and Flynn finally figured out how the lights worked -- or maybe they got help. "You know you're doing this today so that they can't come here to stop you and risk getting on Caleb's bad side. You got this, Julie, we all believe in you." 

Julie looked to the direction Willie briefly glanced in, finding Ray and Carlos standing with a slightly dazed Nick. Quickly, Julie made a mental note to sit down with Nick and talk to him properly. 

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath, "I can do this."

"Hey," Willie said, "even if you don't end up visible, they'll still hear you. Don't focus on the crowd too much. You're good." 

"Thanks, Willie." 

Julie pulled the microphone closer to her. They'd gone through several songs. Some of Julie's songs, some of Sunset Curve's, some of Julie's mother's, and a lot of the band's songs. Julie had even visited the boys with a list of songs so they could help her choose. 

Eventually, they picked out a song they'd still been practicing when Julie first fell sick. They'd almost had it down but for obvious reasons, they never performed it. In addition, Julie had practiced the song alone and knew she would be able to play the whole song alone. 

She just wasn't sure she wanted to play music without her boys. But she had to. She'd convinced everyone to let her do this and she couldn't let them down. (She also had a point to prove to Caleb, who was clearly under the impression that Julie wasn't bold enough to publicly out herself, so there was a little more motivation.)

With another deep breath, Julie laid her hands on the keys and began. As the notes filled the gym, the murmurs died down and they all searched for speakers despite the spotlight shining down on an empty piano bench.

_Can you feel it?_   
_Electricity lightin' a spark_   
_A marching band in my heart_   
_Can you feel it? Can you feel us comin' alive?_

Julie of course didn't notice as she began to flicker between visible and invisible. Already lost in her music, Julie also didn't notice the gasps and murmurs quickly rising from the students and teachers. With her eyes closed and music in her heart and mind, Julie only thought of her boys and how much she wished they could be with her right then.

* * *

Reggie was the first to miss a note. It was subtle enough that nearly no one noticed. But Caleb had made them practice for weeks. Even the dancers knew what the musician's chords were. Alex and Luke whipped their heads to Reggie immediately, both concerned with whether or not Reggie was okay. Caleb, on the other hand, had felt the metaphorical leash tug, as if Reggie were trying to leave. 

Reggie looked, in all honesty, just a tad embarrassed that he'd missed a note.

Then Alex missed a few beats. He almost fell out of sync with the rest of Caleb's band. He, like Reggie, seemed embarrassed. 

They were the best ghost musicians out there and they knew it. Even if they were trapped, they weren't going to put out bad music. So what was tripping them up?

Caleb turned an angry warning glare on Luke. At that moment, Luke played the wrong note. Except it didn't _feel_ wrong. It didn't fit and it wasn't one he'd practiced, but it felt right. 

Caleb was a master of masquerade and so it was quickly played off as some sort of magic trick that three of his musicians simply vanished, leaving a gaping hole of empty pauses in their wake.

_Can you feel us comin' alive?_

* * *

No one was confused by the sudden addition to the band on stage. They'd gotten used to it before. What really confused them was Julie herself. 

Julie, who somehow managed to keep playing and singing when she was startled by their arrival. 

Willie, who stood with Carlos, thought he was seeing things. It wouldn't be the first time. But everyone else could see Alex -- and the rest of the band -- too. Willie finally managed to tear his gaze from the blond in the back and settled on Julie. He knew Julie was special, but as time went by, she continually proved to be more and more special than anyone could have ever guessed.

Julie wasn't about to risk not performing with her band ever again. She didn't question the way they still knew all the notes and chords and melodies and harmonies after not playing their own music for so long. Julie never looked a gift horse in the mouth and she wasn't about to start now. 

It was only when Julie abandoned the piano and stood up that Reggie and Luke spread out. Like clockwork, they performed brilliantly, as if they'd never stopped playing together. Alex and Reggie shared a glance when, for the first time in over a year, Luke and Julie shared a mic. 

"Whipped," Reggie mouthed to Alex, who wore a huge grin -- a grin that stretched unbelievably wide when he scanned the crowd of students and saw Willie. 

Complete and utter adoration and awe plastered itself on the boys' faces as they heard Julie's voice soar on notes only Caleb came close to. 

_Can you feel it?_   
_There's a spark and it's waiting to burn_   
_We're here and we'll make the world turn_   
_Can you feel it? Can you feel us comin' alive?_

Knowing what was going to happen, they stood for just a moment longer than necessary before bowing. 

But when they stood up, they were still standing there, on the stage, visible to everyone.

* * *

Caleb wanted nothing more than to torment the boys the moment they returned, but he was fairly certain that would bring Julie down to the club and that was very high up on the list of things he did _not_ want.

He did, however, indulge himself with threatening them within an inch of their existence, should they ever leave again.

All three of them knew they should be at least a little afraid, but they were high on the euphoria of performing with Julie again -- performing freely. 

Later, when Carol came up to them to ask why they left, Alex will tell her that it was all Julie. That they had nothing to do with it. That Julie had pulled them away.

And even later, Carol will have told Meryl, who will have told anyone who listened.

And word will spread all over the ghost club that the events that happened so long ago were not an accident, or a show, or a one time thing. No, the truth will spread that Julie Molina is, and always has been, more powerful than Caleb Covington.

And locked away in the privacy of his dressing room, Caleb will see a doodle he had yet to notice and get rid of, alongside the remaining stubborn yellow roses, and jealousy for Julie's power will expel in the form of raw magic, shattering the mirror.

And the boys will hear it, but they won't care. Because they've just realised that the band is back -- and it's _never_ going to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO chapters from me?? In under a week?? I wonder what the occasion is...
> 
> Am I rushing the plot? Perhaps. Am I going to stop? Absolitely not we all want to see Julie vs Caleb already
> 
> Also don't come at me I know I can't write lyrics so shhh


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Losing Julie a second time lights a spark of determination. Only a matter of time before it's a burning flame.

"Uh. . ."

And with a single syllable from Julie, the entire gym dissolved into chaotic yelling. They'd just witnessed Julie -- someone they knew for certain was dead -- appear just like her hologram band. 

And _then_! They'd witnessed Julie hug said hologram band before they vanished, leaving Julie up on stage. 

So yeah, things were a bit confusing. 

Thankfully, Principal Lessa quieted them. Or maybe not thankfully, because it turned all attention back to Julie.

"What is the truth?" someone yelled. "Because I was at your funeral and I'm pretty sure there was _a_ body in the coffin."

Julie laughed nervously. "Um, what happened in music class the other day was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened . . . but because of it, I've decided to share the truth. It's up to you whether you believe me or not."

From the sides, Carrie and Flynn both gave Julie wise smiles and double thumbs up when she glanced in their direction. 

"I died," Julie stated plainly, "there's nothing untrue about that. Last year November, I died. My band died over twenty-six years ago. I met them when I somehow brought them back twenty-five years after they died. A few weeks ago, Carrie did the same for me. None of us know how it works at all, but we know that we've never been more grateful for our second chances, to meet the people we did, to stay with the ones we love."

Julie gave her father and brother a smile.

"I'm not just telling you the truth because of what happened in music class the other day. After I died, another -- more powerful -- ghost took my band and is still holding them captive. I'm going to fight him if I have to, but I want to strip him of all the power he has first. I'm going to expose Hollywood's biggest ghost club and I need your help to do it. I guess, the question remains . . . do you believe enough of my story to help?"

* * *

"It worked!" Julie cried as soon as she poofed in. She still didn't know how to find her boys within the ghost club but she wasn't about to stop to think when she could just do it. She gave a gleeful hop, failing to see their horrified expressions, and started talking faster than ever before. "We got the whole school to believe! It took a while to convince them all, but I did some ghost-y things, somehow got them all to see Willie, and then finally, the band name started to actually sink in and I guess that must've been the final straw. By the way, we have several die-hard stans at school. One kid said they would die for us. I asked them to make sure not to do that. But the point is. . . what's with the faces, guys?" 

Reggie could only mutely dart his gaze behind Julie as theh stood frozen in their spots.

"And here I thought you'd never show your face in front of me again," Caleb sneered down at Julie. 

Julie stumbled back, towards the boys. 

"You know, I don't really stand for being threatened, Miss Molina. I thought you'd be smarter than to show up so unexpectedly unprepared."

"What --"Julie swallowed her rising fear "-- What do you want from us?" 

"I used to want your alliance. But you've proven time and time again that you'll never bend. So I must break you." 

"Never."

"Oh, I think we'll have fun testing that determination." 

"You'll have to catch me first," Julie snapped.

"Sure. But if you leave here, you know who stays. You know who I turn to in your absence."

Julie glanced back. Her boys were frozen, trapped, unable to even speak, let alone move. But she'd known them so long, she knew what they were saying without having to hear them. But she could ignore them. 

"And if I stay?"

"If you stay," Caleb said, "I'll let them go. No strings attached." 

"Swear it," Julie said, "swear it on your soul and all your magic. Swear you won't touch any of them -- or Willie -- no matter what."

Caleb scowled at the mention of Willie, but he quickly gave Julie a sickly sweet smile. "Fine. I swear on my soul and every single bit if magic I have that I will not touch a single hair on their heads, or Willie's, and to prove my good faith, I won't even touch any of your family. But you must stay here forever." 

"Julie, no!" Reggie had just managed to get the words out, but Julie was nodding and the entire room was fading from their vision. 

They came to in a heap in the studio, Willie standing over them. "Where's Julie?"

All the elation at seeing Willie left Alex's body as he told the tale.

* * *

"That was stupid."

"Maybe. But I love them too much." 

Carol chuckled softly as she wiped at the cut on Julie's cheek, a sympathetic smile on her face as Julie winced. "I meant pushing Caleb out the window, then getting dragged out yourself. Didn't you know ghosts can hurt other ghosts?"

"Why d'you think I pushed him out the window in the first place?"

"There," Carol said, giving Julie's cut one last wipe, "all done. I know you probably think it's stupid to have to do this, but ghosts can and have hurt each other to the point of no return. Magic isn't the only way to blip a ghost out of existence." 

Julie's eyes widened. "Wait . . . You mean . . ."

Carol nodded. "Yes. Ghosts can die again, but only a ghost can kill another ghost."

"Does Caleb know?"

Carold shook her head. "Very few ghosts do. My own sister doesn't. Meryl would blab it out to anyone willing to listen to gossip. We keep it a closely guarded secret for the sole reason of ghosts like Caleb never finding out about it." 

"Wouldn't he have figured it when Reggie. . . I mean, Caleb's not that stupid, right? He'd know things like this, wouldn't he?"

Carlos shrugged. "Reggie beat him within an inch of his afterlife. No one tells the story well enough to do the moment justice. I've never seen anything like that and I've been ghosting since the thirties -- I think. But Caleb recovered quickly. His magic is powerful. He doesn't know it's the only reason he survived Reggie. Like I said, we keep it a closely guarded secret."

Julie's head tilted to one side slightly. "Why are you telling me?"

Carol shrugged. "I feel as though you ought to know. Most ghosts develop a sixth sense when they return. Some sort of sensitivity to the world and the way it works, if you will. You must have noticed by now that you can sometimes just tell when you're supposed to do something. You just know where to be and when to be there."

Julie thought about all the times she'd managed to find her boys when they wandered through the ghost club, all the times she'd managed to meet them when Caleb wasn't around. She thought about how she simply knew when Carlos needed to talk to her and how she just knew when Carrie wanted to be left alone. Suddenly, she realised that she knew exactly what Carol was talking about. 

Carol smiled. "Still figuring these things out?"

Julie laughed. "Willie's a bit of a distracted teacher."

"Well, while you're here, I'd be happy to teach you all there is to ghosting."

"Really? Wait, just how much is there?"

"Oh, lots," Carol said, eyes shining, "by the end of our time together, you might actually know more than I do. I can tell you're a powerful ghost, Julie."

Julie sighed as she thought of home. "Willie said the same."

"I miss that kid. Not that I wish he were back here, but he did liven the place up a little bit. He's got the coolest socks."

"Yeah," Julie said, laughing softly. "He does have really cool socks."

"How is he, by the way?"

Julie shrugged. "He's okay. He's safe. He's really missed Alex and he's been keeping to himself a bit, but he always sat with me when everyone was asleep. He taught me how to go places I've never been before. I think he'll be thrilled to see Alex again." 

"Mm. But I suppose he'll be rather upset to discover the reason your boys got out." 

Julie shrugged again. "Maybe it was stupid. But it's like I said, I love them too much." 

* * *

"We have to tell Ray."

Alex shook his head quickly. "I can't-- I won't be able--"

"It's okay," Willie said, gently squeezing Alex's hand, "I'll tell him. You guys should rest. Relax a little bit."

"No," Reggie piped up, "I'll tell Ray. Luke . . . I don't think he'll leave Julie's room anytime soon. You two stay here, in the studio."

As Reggie walked through the closed doors, Alex sighed heavily and slumped down on the couch. "Why would she do that?"

Willie joined him. "Because she loves you guys a lot more than you think. She came back for you guys." 

"You think so?"

"I know so. Whatever Julie's unfinished business is, it's got something to do with you guys. Or maybe . . . just one of you." 

"Luke." 

Willie shrugged. "I gotta give it to her, though, she is something special." 

"Yeah," Alex agreed, absently leaning his head on Willie's shoulder. Both sent a silent thank you to Julie for the quiet moment they had. Even if it was cut short just then, both would be so grateful to her just for that. 

Willie shifted slightly on the couch to comfortably lean his head on Alex's. They stayed like that until Alex developed a stiff neck.

* * *

Ray was sure Reggie had long since left, but he couldn't take his eyes off the whiteboard in the kitchen.

 _Julie traded herself for us. She promised to stay with Caleb to keep the rest of us safe_.

Ray had always known that Julie had a heart bigger than most, so he wasn't exactly surprised to learn the news. But somewhat expecting it didn't make it any easier to digest. Even dead, Julie was still his baby girl, his little angel. The fact that she was a ghost -- a visible ghost -- had made her death easier on him. He should have known Julie wouldn't waste much time in hatching a plan to save her boys but still. It hurt.

It hurt more than he could bear and for the first time since Julie returned, Ray cried for his lost child.

* * *

With Luke either unable or unwilling to leave Julie's room and Alex rightfully deserving a few quiet moments with Willie, Reggie took it upon himself to spread the news. He visited Carrie first, who bit her lip as her eyes shone with tears. Then he visited Flynn, who yelled and called him a liar before sinking to the floor, tears freely flowing from her eyes. He thought for a moment before visiting Kayla and Nick. Neither were as distraught as Carror or Ray or Flynn, but both were too stunned to speak for a moment. Then Reggie came home for Carlos, who sat still on his bed for the longest time before quietly whispering, "We're going to get her back, right?"

And Reggie, though he knew Carlos wouldn't see or hear him, nodded and said, "No matter what," tightly clutching the other end of Julie's extra large sweater that Carlos was buried in. 

For a moment, Carlos thought he could see Reggie, but it was quickly dismissed as simply wishing Julie were still around to work her magic. 

The two of them fell asleep together.

* * *

Near midnight, Carrie woke with a start and nearly fell off her bed in an attempt to reach her phone quickly. As soon as her fingers wrapped around it, it began to vibrate as Flynn's name lit up the screen.

"Timetable change," Flynn said as soon as Carrie picked up, barely giving her a chance to greet, "We need to move faster. I'll be there tomorrow and we'll talk to your dad, okay?" 

Carrie nodded to her dark room. "Okay." 

"I'll tell Kayla to spread word. We're breaking Julie out and we're doing it before the end of the week."

Carrie nodded again. "Okay."

"Hey," Flynn said gently, "we're gonna get your Julie Bean back, okay, Care Bear?"

Carrie nodded once more. "Okay." 

"Get some sleep, Carrie. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Flynn? Thank you." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I am seeing (and loving) all of your comments, long, short, keysmashes, or whatever!! I'm just not managing to sit down to respond to all of them!! 
> 
> I will soon enough, I promise


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are made. Bobby reunites with his bandmates -- sort of

Bobby cried. Trevor Wilson listened to their story, but Bobby cried. It had taken him years to become Trevor Wilson. Well, it had taken the media mere weeks but he hadn't seen himself as Trevor for years after. For him, becoming someone else was the only way to escape all the guilt he felt at his own voice being stamped out when he tried to talk about Sunset Curve. No one wanted to hear about the dead teenagers, no matter how hard Bobby tried to talk about them. Eventually, Trevor won and Bobby died too. Quietly and eventually forgotten, just like the rest of the band. 

But listening to Flynn? Well, the change there was instantaneous. Every time Flynn noted something the boys accomplished with Julie's help, Bobby came a little more alive. It didn't take long for Carrie to notice a subtle change in her dad. His eyes shone a little brighter, he smiled a little wider, and he cried a little harder. 

And then he asked, "Where are they now? Can I see them?" and Flynn and Carrie remembered that the only person who could let him see them was trapped with Caleb. 

But then something snapped within him for the second time. Carrie had seen her dad look determined before but this was an entirely new level.

"Okay," he said when Flynn quietly explained the trade Julie had agreed to, "so how do we get her back?"

"We?" Carrie echoed. 

"Yeah. Aside from the fact that you girls grew up together and I love Julie just as much as I love you, she brought my best friends back and she gave them the life and recognition I couldn't. Julie's an angel and she's going to get every bit of help we can give her." 

Flynn smiled. "Okay, so we have a working theory."

"I'm all ears."

* * *

Caleb stormed into the hall and glared at the girl behind the piano. "SHUT UP!!"

Julie stopped holding the high note. "What? I'm just practicing." 

"No, you're going to burst my eardrums! It is not humanly possibly to hit notes that high."

"Well, I'm a ghost."

"So am I, but you don't see me screeching like an alley cat during resting hours!"

"See, that's because you can't hit a note that high." 

A dancer walking by snorted and fled before Caleb could figure out who they were. 

"If I could figure out a way to get rid of you, I promise you, I would have done it a long time ago."

Julie shrugged. "Okay, boomer."

Caleb narrowed his eyes at Julie. "I will find a way to get strip away every bit of power you have. And when that's done, you won't have anyone or anything and you'll be a miserable little ghost with nowhere to call home."

Julie stared at Caleb blankly. "Okay, boomer."

She grinned as Caleb stormed off. Maybe eternity in the Hollywood Ghost Club wouldn't be so bad if she could torment Caleb for the rest of his afterlife.

* * *

"I thought you said no big concerts," Kayla said when Flynn finished.

"I did, but we're running out of ideas."

"And," Carrie added, "it worked for the guys so there's a chance it could work for Julie. Even trapped with Caleb, Julie managed to pull the guys on to her stage."

"Yeah, but Julie was doing the pulling," Nick said, "and we've established that Julie's got some serious magic. What if it can't work the other way around?"

"I don't know," Flynn said, sighing. "I don't know, free live radio for an audience? I just -- I wanna get Julie back. We need her back. Here and safe." 

"Okay," Kayla said after a moment. "I think you're rushing this but I get it. You love Julie. Both of you. So just . . . tell me what you need to do."

Flynn and Carrie smiled, grins growing when Nick sighed and told them he agreed with Kayla.

* * *

"All right," Meryl said, "you got it, boss."

The joking nickname reminded Julie of Luke. If she made it past the final step in her plan, she was going to absolutely shower Luke in nearly every form of affection she could. 

Julie fiddled with one of her bracelets. "Be careful, Merry. I don't want you getting on Caleb's bad side."

"Oh, sweetie, don't you worry. I'm always on his bad side." With a grin and a wink, Meryl skipped off. "We'll make sure to keep the prep work quiet, don't you worry."

Carol put her hand on Julie's shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"

Julie nodded. "Somehow, I'm the only person he feels threatened by. If I throw a performance, I think that'll piss him off so bad, he might just explode himself." .

Carol smiled briefly. "I've never had the guts but you . . . you've been here less than a week but you've already touched so many hearts. You amaze me, Julie Molina."

Julie smiled as Carol hugged her tight. It felt familiar, like a hug from Rose. Julie sighed and squeezed Carol back just as tight. She had never missed her mother more, but she had people waiting for her. So with a determined glint in her eye, Julie took the long box from Carol and held it close. 

The time had come to strike.

* * *

Carrie rarely saw her father nervous. Even when he was, he managed to play it off calmly. Of course, she could always tell, but it had never been so openly visible for _others_ to see too.

"You're gonna be fine, dad." 

Bobby nodded. "Mhm." 

Suddenly, he was very afraid at the thought of being left alone in the studio. He hadn't set foot in there since they had died almost twenty-seven years ago. Almost as soon as Carrie left, he felt like the child he was back then. The small whiteboard on the table lifted and the marker scribbled for a second before it was turned to face him.

 _You're still an asshole_.

Bobby could almost see Luke's pouty frown and it made him chuckle slightly. "I got something that might help," he said, setting down four tablets on the table. "Carrie told me you guys tend to use Carlos' tablet a lot but I figured there's four of you and only one of that, so. . ." 

Alex, who was last to pick up a tablet, noticed a fourth. For Willie? 

"Hey, look at the tiny little mic," Reggie said, grinning. He frowned. "How does it work?"

With a sigh, Alex helped Reggie. 

Once he was done, Luke decided to test his out. He opend the notes and set it to speech-to-text. (He'd done it enough times to know how it worked blindfolded, by now). "You're still an asshole."

Bobby watched the words type themselves out on the tablet screen Luke had set down. 

"I know."

"But it's okay," Reggie said. "We're past it. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." 

"I want to. I just . . . I just don't know what to say. I thought you guys were gone for good. And I should've come here sooner. I could've asked Julie about you when you first played the Orpheum. I should have." 

The mere mention of Julie's name turned Luke's expression sour. He hated that she had traded herself for them. He hated how good she was. He hated that she put herself in danger for them. Almost as if he could sense Luke's mood, Bobby spoke again, directly to Luke. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to hit a nerve."

"It's okay," Alex said when Luke wouldn't raise his gaze from the carpet. "He gets moody about Jules every odd hour."

"Can't imagine why," Bobby teased, wishing with all his heart he could see Luke's face -- that he could see all three of them. He anticipated the blow, of course, but given that he couldn't see Luke coming, he got a surprise shoe in the face. "Okay. I deserved that." 

_Yes_ , Luke's iPad read, _you did_.

And that was seemingly all it took. It was difficult for Bobby to gauge, given that he couldn't see the boys, but they made it work. Things were made lighter when Reggie tried to refer to him as Bobby Wil-dad and the iPad simply would not spell it correctly, leading Reggie to furiously shake the iPad before manually typing it in. The wiggling iPad in midair made Bobby laugh.

* * *

While Carrie explained their new plan to her father with odd interjections from Alex, and Flynn talked to Ray with Reggie's help, Nick and Kayla stayed up late on a video call. 

"Are you scared?" Nick asked.

"Not as much as I should be, I think. But you gotta remember, I never took any of this seriously. In the beginning, I even thought it was just some stupid joke. And, to top it off, I'm not the one who had this big bad Caleb Covington in my head." 

Nick nodded. "Yeah."

"Hey. Nicky. It's okay to be scared."

"I know. I know. It's just . . . I'm not really that scared for Julie, y'know? I'm just afraid."

Kayla gave Nick a sympathetic smile. "I know, Nick. And it's fine. It's normal. I mean, just from what I've heard, it sounds like Caleb can be very traumatizing. In fact, I'm just proud of you for still being around to help get Julie back."

Nick shrugged. "I feel like I have to. She's the reason Caleb couldn't possess the guys, y'know. She's the reason he left me and -- and she _died_ for that."

"You are _not_ at fault for Julie's death," Kayla said firmly. "Nick, look at me. If there's anyone you should hate, it's Caleb. He's the one responsible for all of this. You are not to blame. He is."

Nick smiled slightly as he remembered hearing Julie say something similar. "Yeah. Thanks, Kay. I know it. I know it but it's like I can't believe it sometimes and I just need to be reminded."

"I know, Nicky. So, about this plan of ours . . . How difficult do you think it's gonna be to acquire a big stage?" 

Nick laughed. "With the combined influence of mine, yours and Carrie's parents, I'm sure we can work something out. Or, y'know, Flynn will make magic somehow. Or Willie. They're both down for illegal schemes." 

Kayla grinned. "Are you?"

"To get Julie back? Kay, I think we both know that everyone involved in this little stunt is ready to go to jail for her."

"I mean . . . as long as it's not the great beyond, I'd go anywhere to help them get Julie back. My mom got arrested once."

"That doesn't count. She didn't get arrested. The officer let your mom sit in the front of her car and she drove your mom home."

"She was trying to drive drunk. That's illegal."

"She left the keys in the bar! She _couldn't_ drive even if she knew how to!"

Kayla laughed. "Yeah, well your dad almost got arrested for breaking a church window with a basketball!!" 

"The key word being almost." 

"Shut up."

Nick grinned. "Get some rest, okay? Carrie demanded am early morning meeting."

"I love Julie. I really do. But Carrie's gonna drive me insane." 

"Night, Kayla." 

Kayla smiled. "Night, Nick."

After closing the laptop and setting it on the nightstand, Nick lay awake for a few minutes more, wondering if they'd come into contact with Caleb Covington again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter? Short chapter.  
> I think you all know what this means...
> 
> Also..  
> A chapter????? From me???? It's more likely than you think!!!!!


End file.
